2026 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations

During the Parade of Nations within the Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes and officials from each participating country will march in the San Siro Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the nation's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.

Parade order

By tradition, Greece entered first as the originator of the Olympics, ^[1] and Italy entered last as host. Per a new rule introduced by the International Olympic Committee at the 2020 Summer Olympics, ^[2] the United States was antepenultimate as the host of the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, France was penultimate as the host of the 2030 Winter Olympics in French Alps, and host nation Italy entered last. All nations in between will enter in the order of the host nation's language, Italian language.

Participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes

Main article: Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics

The potential participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes has remained controversial amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in international tournaments, citing the violation of the Olympic Truce.

In July 2023, the IOC stated that while Russia and Belarus would not be formally invited, their athletes would be allowed to compete as neutrals in a similar manner to Wimbledon after it reversed its ban of Russians and Belarusians that year. This was confirmed by the IOC in December 2023, with Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals without anthems or flags for the 2024 Summer Olympics. ^[3] As individual athletes, the delegation did not take part in the parade of nations during the opening ceremony. A similar decision is expected to be made for the 2026 Winter Olympics. ^[4]

Locations

Due to the geographic footprint of the games, athletes will be marching in four locations across the various clusters. Each nation will be allowed to name two flagbearers across the four locations, with the host nation, Italy, being able to name four. ^[5]

List of athletes parade locations

• Cortina - Cortina d’Ampezzo city centre
• Milan - San Siro Stadium
• Predazzo - Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
• Livigno - Livigno Snow Park

List

The following is a list of each country's flag bearer. The list is sorted by the sequence that each nation appeared in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC, and the Italian names follow their official designations by the Milano Cortina Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

This table is sortable by country name in English, country name in Italian, flag bearer name, and flag bearer sport.

All flagbearers marched in Milan, unless noted.

Order	Nation	Italian	Flag bearer	Sport	Ref.
1	Greece	Grecia
2	Albania	Albania
3	Andorra	Andorra
4	Saudi Arabia	Arabia Saudita
5	Argentina	Argentina
6	Armenia	Armenia
7	Australia	Australia
8	Austria	Austria
9	Azerbaijan	Azerbaigian
10	Belgium	Belgio
11	Benin	Benin
12	Bolivia	Bolivia
13	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia ed Erzegovina
14	Brazil	Brasile
15	Bulgaria	Bulgaria
16	Canada	Canada
17	Czech Republic	Cechia
18	Chile	Cile
19	China	Repubblica Popolare Cinese
20	Cyprus	Cipro
21	Colombia	Colombia
22	South Korea	Repubblica di Corea
23	Croatia	Croazia
24	Denmark	Danimarca
25	Ecuador	Ecuador
26	United Arab Emirates	Emirati Arabi Uniti
27	Eritrea	Eritrea
28	Estonia	Estonia
29	Philippines	Filippine
30	Finland	Finlandia
31	Georgia	Georgia
32	Germany	Germania
33	Jamaica	Giamaica
34	Japan	Giappone	Wataru Morishige	Speed skating	[6]
35	Great Britain	Gran Bretagna
36	Guinea-Bissau	Guinea-Bissau
37	Haiti	Haiti
38	Hong Kong	Hong Kong, Cina
39	India	India
40	Iran	Repubblica Islamica dell'Iran
41	Ireland	Irlanda
42	Iceland	Islanda
43	Israel	Israele	Mariia Seniuk	Figure skating	[7]
44	Kazakhstan	Kazakistan	Denis Nikisha	Short track speed skating	[8]
			Yana Khan	Short track speed skating
45	Kenya	Kenya
46	Kyrgyzstan	Kirghizistan
47	Kosovo	Kosovo
48	Latvia	Lettonia
49	Lebanon	Libano
50	Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein
51	Lithuania	Lituania
52	Luxembourg	Lussemburgo
53	North Macedonia	Macedonia del Nord
54	Madagascar	Madagascar
55	Malaysia	Malaysia
56	Malta	Malta
57	Morocco	Marocco
58	Mexico	Messico	Donovan Carrillo	Figure skating	[9]
			Sarah Schleper	Alpine skiing
59	Moldova	Repubblica di Moldavia
60	Monaco	Monaco
61	Mongolia	Mongolia
62	Montenegro	Montenegro
63	Nigeria	Nigeria
64	Norway	Norvegia
65	New Zealand	Nuova Zelanda
66	Netherlands	Paesi Bassi
67	Pakistan	Pakistan
68	Poland	Polonia
69	Portugal	Portogallo
70	Romania	Romania
71	San Marino	San Marino
72	Serbia	Serbia
73	Singapore	Singapore
74	Slovakia	Slovacchia
75	Slovenia	Slovenia
76	Spain	Spagna
77	South Africa	Sudafrica
78	Sweden	Svezia
79	Switzerland	Svizzera
80	Chinese Taipei	Taipei Cinese
81	Thailand	Thailandia
82	Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad e Tobago
83	Turkey	Türkiye
84	Ukraine	Ucraina
85	Hungary	Ungheria
86	Uruguay	Uruguay
87	Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan
88	Venezuela	Venezuela
89	United States	Stati Uniti d'America
90	France	Francia
91	Italy	Italia	Federico Pellegrino	Cross-country skiing	[10]
			Amos Mosaner (Cortina)	Curling
			Arianna Fontana	Short-track speed skating
			Federica Brignone (Cortina)	Alpine skiing

Notes

References

1. Gaines, Cork; Davis, Scott (9 February 2018). "Why Greece always leads the parade of athletes at the Olympic opening ceremony and how the rest of the order is determined". Business Insider . New York City, New York, U.S. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
2. "Future Olympic hosts to gain prominence in athletes' parades". www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
3. "Paris 2024 Olympics: Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals". BBC Sport. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
4. AIN Eligibility Review Panel established by IOC EB – Paris Games-time protocol elements agreed on
5. Barry, Colleen (16 October 2025). "The Milan-Cortina Olympic Opening Ceremony will spread across regions, like the Games themselves". NBC News . Associated Press . Retrieved 10 January 2026.
6. "森重航將擔任米蘭冬奧日本代表團旗手" [Wataru Morishige will serve as the flag bearer for the Japanese delegation at the Milan Winter Olympics] (in Japanese). Kyodo News. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
7. "מריה סניוק תישא את דגל ישראל בטקס הפתיחה של משחקי החורף מילאנו קורטינה 2026" [Mariia Seniuk will carry the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games] (in Hebrew). Olympic Committee of Israel. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
8. Omirgazy, Dana (31 December 2025). "Kazakhstan Names Flag Bearers for Milan 2026 Winter Olympics". Astana, Kazakhstan: Astana Times. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
9. "Sarah Schleper y Donovan Carrillo abanderados por México a Milano-Cortina 2026" [Sarah Schleper and Donovan Carrillo flagbearers for Mexico at Milano-Cortina 2026] (in Spanish). Comité Olímpico Mexicano. 10 January 2026. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
10. "Italy's 4 flag bearers for Milan Cortina Winter Olympics honored in handover ceremony". AP News. 22 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.