10 Best Olympic Opening Ceremonies Of All Time, Ranked

Known for one of the most delightful Olympic Opening Ceremonies in recent history, Barcelona’s 1992 show at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys featured mammoth puppets dazzling the 67,000 spectators and Paralympic archer Antonio Robello lighting the flame by shooting a flaming arrow. Although the execrable Andrew Lloyd Webber-penned ‘Amigos Para Siempre’ is best forgotten, the event is fondly remembered for its spectacle and for the bittersweet ‘Barcelona’ theme, a recorded duet by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé that was played during the ceremony because Mercury had died in 1991, preventing the live performance originally planned. - Joel Meares