Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

13. Opening, Closing and
Victory Ceremonies
13.1
Basic Preparations
13.1.1
Overview
—————————————–
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies
of the 24th Olympiad in Seoul were
designed to serve as a momentum for
the "Harmony and Progress" of the
whole world, to highlight the uniqueness
of the Korean culture and to form
a consensus among the Koreans and
the peoples of the rest of the world.
To this aim, the basic guidelines for
the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
were worked out as follows:
(1) The ceremonies should manifest
the yearning for international friendship
and global peace in a solemn and
joyous atmosphere in observance of
the Articles 63 and 66 of the Olympic
Charter.
(2) The originality of Korean culture
should be the undercurrent of the program,
but it should be aided by colors
and music to garner the sympathy of
the whole world citizens.
(3) The opinions of specialists, both at
home and abroad, should be taken
into consideration as much as
possible.
(4) A systematic and reasonable
organization should be formed to
promote the program.
(5) Human and material resources in
cultural and scientific fields should be
fully developed and utilized to make
the program a genuine festival for the
world people.
(6) The staging of students attending
ordinary schools should be minimized
while the participation of those at art
and athletic institutes, and professional
artists is encouraged.
(7) The experiences from the 1986
Asian Games in Seoul should be
made most of in the preparations for
the upcoming events.
Preparations for the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies were classified
into program production, music
production, development of special
effects, the appropriation and supply
of materials and installation of proper
equipment at venues, and program
operation.
The Opening Ceremonies advanced in
three phases — the prelude, the official
ceremony and the epilogue — for
180 minutes, staging 13,625 people in
15 performance numbers.
The program of the Closing Ceremonies,
which ended the 16-day Olympic
drama, commenced at 7 p.m. on
October 2, 1988, and lasted for 90
minutes, staging 6,173 people in nine
works. All the performances except for
the official proceedings were designed
to express the reluctance to parting
and the longing for reunion, in addition
to reaffirming the idea of "Harmony
and Progress" shared through sports.
13.1.2
Implementation
—————————————–
The preparations for the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies of the Seoul
Olympic Games started in December
1986, with the founding of the Department
of the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies. The department consisted
of the Divisions of Ceremonies
Tasks of each division and office:
Division 1
• Planning of the program for the
ceremonies.
• The formation and operation of the
ceremonies' operation headquarters.
• The recruitment and operation of the
foreign performers.
• The education of the operation personnel
and the manpower management.
1 and 2, and Arts and Music
• The program production.
Managers. Earlier in July 1986, the • Establishment of plans for the appraisal
SLOOC formed planning corps for the meetings and rehearsals, and implemen-
Opening and Closing Ceremonies and
had it work out the theme of the
ceremonies and basic features of a
scenario. In December of that year, a
scenario was drafted and published.
The SLOOC referred the draft scenario
to the Advisory Committee for the
tation of the plans.
Division 2
• The formation of the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies production corps.
• The recruitment and operation of the
performers.
• The establishment of plans for the
practice of performances and the
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
implementation of the plans.
inaugurated in February 1987, to
• The development, securing and opera-
deliberate, coordinate and advise on tion of the special effects.
matters concerning the production and
operation of the program. The committee
held meetings to deliberate the
scenario from March 7-15 of the same
year and on April 3 published the
finally approved scenario in a book
The Office of Music Officer
• The production and distribution of the
official music numbers of the Games.
• The production of music for the Opening
and Closing Ceremonies.
• The formation of the orchestra and
chorus and their operation.
form. That meant the settlement of the • The production and distribution of the
basic guidelines for all the events
Seoul Olympic Song.
relating to the Opening and Closing The Office of Arts Officer
Ceremonies.
The SLOOC reported the scenario to
the 92nd IOC sessions in May 1987. In
June of that year, the SLOOC kicked
off the substantial preparations by
starting to select the organizations to
the securing of the costumes of the
performers.
• Appropriation and management of sets
and props.
• The installation of necessary equipment
at venues and decoration of them.
take part in the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies. In September 1987, a
detailed picture was completed for the
actual practice of the performances to
be given during the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies. The production corps
launched the practice which was
carried out for a total of 160 hours in
five phases.
The SLOOC established the operation
unit for the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies on June 8, 1988, putting
all projects concerning the program
operation, protocol, program support
and management in full readiness. On
June 29, the same year, another meeting
appraising the preparations for the
ceremonies was held and worked out
measures to make up for the weak
points.
On August 30, 1988, when the opening
The Department of Opening and
Closing Ceremonies was expanded
and reorganized into the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies Operation Unit in
June 1988. The pyramid organization
was headed by the secretary general
of culture and ceremonies. It had six
deputy director-generals each of
whom was responsible for the situation
room, the variety of events, the
protocol, the performance support and
venue management. Also joining the
unit was the director of the Seoul
Sports Complex.
Under the deputy director-generals
were 19 divisions and 66 managers'
offices.
of the Games was only some two
weeks away, all the 15 performances
were practiced publicly at the main
stadium of the Seoul Sports Complex.
On September 8, a full-dress rehearsal
13.2
Planning and Production
of the Program
of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
was held. The second rehearsal
was given on September 14, putting an
end to the time-consuming practices.
13.2.1
Formation and Operation of the
Production Team
Unlike the sports competitions which
13.1.3
Organization and Manpower
—————————————–
The Department of Opening and Closing
Ceremonies, a commanding post
for the operation and promotion of
projects relating to the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies, was made up of
the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Divisions 1 and 2, and the Offices of
Arts and Music Officers
are held continuously, the Opening
and Closing Ceremonies take place
just once at a designated time at a
designated place. The ceremonies
therefore do not allow any error.
—————————————–
—————————————–
1. Balloons shoot skyward after release of
the World Tree.
1