Film info

Creator / Collector

Description
Views from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on October 10, 1964 at Tokyo's Mei Ji Stadium.

They were the first Olympics games to be held in Japan and in Asia. 5,151 athletes from 93 countries took part in the event, 14 of which competed for the first time, as well as three sports were added, judo, women's volleyball and pentathlon. The whole venture cost at Japan three billion dollars, the cost of which was a record at the time.

We can see views from the full stadium as there were about 75,000 spectators on that day. The flags of the participating countries are waving, and the Greek team, led by the first torchbearer Georgios Marselos opens the entrance of the athletes. We watch the mission of Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Nigeria, USA., Japan as well as the Olympic flag-raising ceremony.

Colorful balloons decorate Tokyo's Sky and the last torchbearer, the then nineteen-year-old student Yoshinori Sakai, enters the Stadium holding the torch of the Olympic flame. He was born just outside Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the first atomic bomb exploded. Sakai's choice was emblematic and he was the first non-Olympic athlete to be assigned with such honor.

In the film we watch his route from his entrance in the stadium to the altar, and the lighting of the Olympic Flame that would burn during the games.

The film closes with the release of thousands of pigeons, as a symbol of peace and sportsmanship.

Coordinates

People

Events

Film Information

Holder
Athanasoglou Nikolaos

Quality
HD (1440x1080)

Sound
No

Color
Yes

Duration (seconds)
472

Format
8mm