The Coolest Things That Ever Happened at the Winter Opening Ceremonies

Updated on 2/7/2014 at 9:00 PM

Every Winter Olympic Games is different, but if there's one thing you can expect this weekend, it's an over-the-top opening ceremony with plenty of colorful lights, crazy performances, and out-of-control fireworks shows. To get excited for the Sochi spectacle that's coming up on Friday, we're taking a look back at some of the outrageous, impressive performances from past opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. With supersteep ski jumps, giant snowboarding leaps, and fiery skating routines, the ceremonies bring out some wild displays of athleticism — not to mention some of the more out-there performance factors, like the fantastical dresses in Italy or the human snow globes in France. In anticipation of the opening ceremony on Feb. 7, check out 47 of the most memorable moments from Winter Olympics ceremonies past!

The Squaw Valley Winter Olympics in 1960 opened right on the snowy mountainside.

And the 1980 Games in Lake Placid brought out big confetti.

In 1984, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, was all about people spelling out words.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, got extra festive in their ponchos in 1988.

There were a whole lot of balloons.

And fireworks took over the streets during the opening ceremony.

Albertville, France, hosted in 1992, when human snow globes walked the streets.

People were flying around on a giant carousel.

For the 1994 Lillehammer, Norway, Games, a skier carried the torch down a supersteep slope.

That year, the fireworks were kind of insane.

To be fair, Salt Lake City showed off some crazy fireworks in 2002, too.

And the athletes' setup was pretty awesome.

People in tinsel-style costumes hit the ice.

There were also fiery skaters doing flips.

And Sting made his way to the stage.

Fast forward to 2006 in Turin, Italy, with the crazy moons.

And the wild, Alice-in-Wonderland-style dresses with people inside them.

Oh, there were people in clams, too.

And people putting on mini performances during the performance.

They entered in these fantastical cars.

Meanwhile, the athletes were lined up in a perfect, colorful oval.

Giant images were projected onto the ground.

But seriously, let's get back to these giant spheres.

And that very, very frightening face.

Acrobats were just hanging around.

And then they formed a giant bird.

There were, once again, some impressive fireworks.

Check out how cool they looked from the inside!

Vancouver was one big, blue fantasy world in 2010.

A giant, glittery bear was just chilling.

And people marched around tall statues that were all lit up.

Oh, look! Another moon!

Maple leaves really drove the "Canada" point home.

And skaters sped around a big tent.

Where, once again, we saw some cool athlete images.

Then a snowboarder LEAPED through the Olympic rings.

Which was pretty awesome.

Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan showed up.

So did Wayne Gretzky.

Ditto fellow Canadians Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams.

There was a cool, lit-up nature scene.

And some seriously elaborate costumes.

Performers played instruments in floating boats.

And skaters raced around with fire coming out of their helmets.

Rows and rows of legs popped up for a synchronized routine.

More fire.

And then everyone held hands around the tall Olympic flame.

Next up: Sochi. What do you think the organizers have up their sleeves this time?