A commentary on the opening ceremony, from the Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Today's broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, which were last held in Los Angeles in 1932, will start with a five minutes' description by T. Woodrooffe , and then listeners will hear Herr Hitler officially declaring the games open. A fanfare, specially composed by Heger, will follow; the Olympic banner will be hoisted ; a battery will fire the salute ; and pigeons will be released in the arena.
At 5.3 the final relay runner, carrying the torch that has been handed from runner to runner (the first runner started from Olympia, Greece) is due to enter the stadium where he will use the actual torch to light the Olympic fire.
At 5.5 an olive branch will be handed over, then the Olympic hymn, composed by Richard Strauss , will be sung; the flagbearers of the fifty-three nations competing will step forward and give the Olympic oath. After the singing of Handel's ' Hallelujah ', the standard-bearers will make their entry ; finally the competitors will leave the stadium, and the broadcast will close with music. The band consists of 450 instrumentalists and 1,000 singers. This broadcast will be followed by daily running commentaries and eyewitness accounts, full particulars of which will be announced later.