Already in October 2003, DJ Tiësto was asked by the Athenian Olympic Committee if he wanted to perform at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games. He was also asked to compose songs that showed the 'Olympic spirit' and were both modern and had something of the classical heritage in them. The songs had to be instrumental (words can be interpreted differently in every language) and everything
… he played during the ceremony had to be his own. Tiësto, of course, thought it was a great honor, and had difficulty keeping this secret, because he was not allowed to tell anyone yet. No sooner said than done, and so the thousands of players and spectators in the Olympic stadium and several billion TV viewers on Friday 13 August (! ) hear the trance sounds of DJ Tiësto - as far as this was possible with the poor reproduction via the TV, because it was not more than a thumping sound. The CD Parade Of The Athletes contains songs that Tiësto played during the opening (and is therefore not a live registration): songs specially composed for this occasion such as Heroes, Ancient History, Euphoria and Athena, as well as his well-known squatters Adagio For Strings, Traffic and Lethal Industry. (IV)more
