Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony - Welcome

(13/08/04) The world was welcomed to Greece, birthplace of the Olympic Games by 400 percussionists and 50 bouzouki players. Gigantic screens zeroed in on a lone percussionist in ancient Olympia who played the rhythm of a heartbeat, which symbolized the Athens 2004 theme of 'unique Games on a human scale'. He was 'challenged' by a single musician in the Olympic Stadium. Soon both reached synchronicity, at which point all stadium musicians joined in to reach a crescendo -- the signal for a pyrotechnic 'comet' to be launched from a video screen into the water, triggering the reveal of five blazing Olympic rings on the surface of the stadium's vast central expanse of water.