A Classic Spectacle

GERO BRELOER/EPA
UP IN THE AIR: Performers during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens

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Guilty or innocent, the potential loss of the two biggest Greek stars sent various Olympic officials into a tragicomic spiral of self-pity. "We've been screwed," said a senior Athens organizer. "All the fun has been spoiled. All our efforts for a success have been destroyed."

Not really, of course. To the rest of the world, Thanou and Kenteris are just two more hard-to-pronounce names, and if it turns out Greece does have a couple of high-profile dopers on its squad well, who doesn't? If nothing else, the scandal added some suspense to the opening ceremony, since word had already leaked out that Thanou was going to be one of the final torch bearers and Kenteris was going to light the Olympic flame. Instead, Nikos Kaklamanakis, a gold medalist in sailing, got the honor. He touched his small flame to a giant, deus ex machina contraption bent over the stadium as if it was getting a light for a cigarette. Very European, that.

This unusual duet was preceded by the familiar pageant of the parade of nations, in which swaggering jocks are transformed into Model U.N. delegates thanks to enduring fashion stereotypes. The Bermudans wore their shorts; Tonga had grass skirts; the Japanese showed up in neon Hello Kitty-ish floral patterns; and the Americans, cautioned against excessive displays of national pride, strolled into the stadium in what appeared to be pajamas and sacre bleu!--berets.

A lot has changed since the 2002 opening ceremony in Salt Lake City, when many countries carried the Stars and Stripes along with their own flags. There was none of that this time, though the negative reaction U.S. athletes were prepared to expect hasn't surfaced either. "Coming in here, I was conscious of the possible dirty looks," said U.S. hammer thrower Jackie Jeschelnig in the Olympic Village, "but honestly, I haven't seen them." In fact, the U.S. delegation received one of the loudest roars of the evening, U.S. politics having been given the night off. But Iraq whose soccer team shocked global powerhouse Portugal the night before the ceremony by beating them 4-2 in the Olympic preliminaries and Afghanistan were clearly the stadium's favorite guests.

When all the athletes were finally in place, standing in the spot where 2,162,000 liters of magic lake water had been drained in just three minutes, Bjork performed a song about mother earth while her dress morphed into a map of the world that stretched over the heads of the athletes. It was the largest printed photograph ever. Bjork was followed by Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the woman widely credited with saving the Athens Games from their own inertia in 2000. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who smiles even when she's not smiling, got Greek pride going again and welcomed the world to the party.

Even before some of the late partygoers arrived home Saturday morning, athletes were taking the field. The Games' first gold was awarded to China's Du Li in the women's 10-m air-rifle competition. The People's Republic followed up Du's feat with another shooting gold, along with a pair of conquests in the men's synchronized platform and women's synchronized springboard diving events.