On Easter Monday in 1896 the first Olympic Games opening ceremony was played out in front of 80,000 spectators in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Greece.

It was a rather modest affair by today's standards, with a speech from president of the organising committee Crown Prince Constantine, before King George I of Greece officially declared the Games open.

The Olympic Hymn followed and that was pretty much that.

Since then, we have seen carefully choreographed dance routines, jetpacks, flaming arrows and burning doves as each host city tries to out-do its predecessor.