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.
Cecilia Carranza Saroli is an Argentine Olympic sailor. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's Laser Radial class, finishing in the 21st place. At the 2008 Summer Olympics she finished 8th in the same event. Cecilia won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. At the 2016 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal in the category Nacra 17 alongside fellow sailor Santiago Lange.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes have competed in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, either openly, or having come out some time afterward. Relatively few LGBT athletes have competed openly during the Olympics. Out of the 104 openly gay and lesbian participants in the Summer Olympics as of 2012, 53% have won a medal. Cyd Zeigler, Jr., founder of the LGBT athletics website Outsports, reasoned that this could be the result of the relieved focus and lack of "burden" an athlete would have after coming out, that "high-level athletes" are more likely to feel secure in coming out as their careers have been established, or their performance was mere coincidence and had no correlation with their sexual orientation at all.
During the Parade of Nations within the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, which took place on 23 July 2021, athletes and officials from each participating team entered the Olympic Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer will have been chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves. For the first time, each team had the option to allow two flag bearers, one male and one female, in an effort to promote gender equality. These Olympics were postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of athletes who paraded at this opening ceremony was much smaller than normal, which is also due to the new "2-week, 2-wave" system which is first used at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, in which the athletes that competed at the first week paraded at the opening ceremony, and the athletes that compete at the second week paraded at the closing ceremony.
Kellie Anne Harrington is an Irish amateur boxer and an Olympic gold medallist.
During the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, athletes from each participating country paraded in the Japan National Stadium, preceded by its flag and placard carrier. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the nation's National Paralympic Committee (NPC) or by the athletes themselves.
During the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the flag bearers for the 205 National Olympic Committee's (NOCs) and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will enter the Olympic Stadium. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony. Due to COVID-19 related protocols, athletes had to leave Japan within 48 hours from completion of their final event, leaving some countries without representation during the closing ceremony. Flags of the countries without athletes present were instead carried by volunteers.
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 20th. 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.
