The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad and commonly known as Montreal 1976, were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam on May 12, 1970, over the bids of Moscow and Los Angeles. It was the first and, so far, only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada. Toronto hosted the 1976 Summer Paralympics the same year as the Montreal Olympics, which still remains the only Summer Paralympics to be held in Canada. Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010, respectively.
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games, the medal winners received a crown of olive branches, which was a direct reference to the Ancient Games, in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements of the ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, and cannot be changed by the host nation. This requirement of seeking the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) includes the artistic portion of opening and closing ceremonies.
During the Parade of Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, held beginning at 6:00 PM PST on February 12, 2010, 82 athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations led their national delegations as they paraded into BC Place Stadium in the host city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
During the Parade of Nations at the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony, which was held beginning at 6:00 PM PST on March 12, 2010, 44 athletes bore the flags of their respective nations and lead their national delegations as they paraded into BC Place Stadium in the host city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
During the parade of nations portion of the 1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
During the Parade of Nations section of the 1994 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by name board bearers with a couple between them, and also the country flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. The Parade of Nations was organized according to the Bokmål Norwegian alphabet. As usual, Greece leads the parade, followed by American Samoa.Due logistical troubles, Mongolia did not march in the parade, but still compete in the Games. The announcers welcomed the country in their respective national language, English, and lastly French.
During the Parade of Nations section of the 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena. The flag from each team was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. Due the rules stipulated by the Olympic Charter at the time the Organizing Committee opted for the option of the protocol order in English, instead of host nation's language, Japanese. Greece led the parade, followed by Andorra. Had the parade followed the Japanese characters, Greece would have been followed by Iceland, and Russian Federation would have been the penultimate country before Japan. One sumo wrestler and one yukiko which bears a country name sign marched before each delegation. Some of famous sumo wrestlers such as Takanonami and Wakanohana accompanied the teams. The yukikos also took part in several other segments in the ceremony.
During the closing ceremony in Sochi, Russia most of the 88 nations competing selected one member of their delegation to be the flagbearer. Some countries for example, Morocco chose the same athlete as the opening ceremony. On the other hand, some countries such as Luxembourg had already left the Olympic village, and therefore a volunteer carried the flags for those countries.
During the parade of nations section of the 1976 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from his or her respective country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
During the Parade of Nations section of the 1984 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from the participating countries marched into the arena. Each delegation was led by a flag bearer and a sign with the name of the country on it. The Parade of Nations was organized in Serbo-Croatian, the official language in Yugoslavia. As tradition dictates, Greece led the parade and Yugoslavia was the last to march to the stadium as the host nation. Two nations were unable to march with their respective national flags, namely British Virgin Islands and Chinese Taipei. While Chinese Taipei was unable to use their flag and the name "Republic of China" due to participation of People's Republic of China, British Virgin Islands team was forced to use a replacement flag. The replacement flag is a white-colored cloth with the words “B. Djevičanska Ostrva” in blue color and the Olympic Rings on it. The organizers were unable to create the flag and created the replacement flag for the opening ceremony.
Pita Nikolas Taufatofua is a Tongan athlete in taekwondo, cross-country skiing, and canoe. He is also a UNICEF ambassador and motivational speaker and lives in Brisbane, Australia.
During the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the flag bearers of 92 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) arrived into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on February 25. The flag bearers from each participating country entered the stadium informally in single file, and behind them marched all the athletes. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony. The flag-bearers entered in ganada order of the Korean alphabet.
During the Parade of Nations at the 2017 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, held on 19 February 2017, 30 athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations led their national delegations as they paraded into the Sapporo Dome in the host city of Sapporo, Japan.
During the Parade of Nations within the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 4, athletes and officials from each participating country marched in the Beijing National Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer bearing the respective country's name. Each flag bearer was chosen either by the nation's National Olympic Committee or by the team of athletes themselves.
The opening ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics was held on February 13, 1988, beginning at 1:30 p.m. MST at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
During the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China the flag bearers of 91 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) arrived into Beijing National Stadium on February 20. The flag bearers from each participating country entered the stadium informally in single file, and behind them marched all the athletes. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony.
During the Parade of Nations within the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony on March 4, athletes and officials from each participating country marched in the Beijing National Stadium, preceded by their flag and placard bearer bearing the respective country's name. Each flag bearer was chosen either by the nation's National Paralympic Committee or by the team of athletes themselves.
