During the Parade of Nations portion of the 1996 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.

Parade order

As the nation of the first modern Olympic Games, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation of the United States marched last. Other countries entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (English), according with tradition and IOC guidelines.[1]

Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, mostly due to political and naming disputes. Macedonia entered as "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" because of the naming dispute with Greece. The Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) entered with the compromised name and flag of "Chinese Taipei" under T so that they did not enter together with conflicting People's Republic of China (commonly known as China), which entered as the "People's Republic of China" under C. The Republic of the Congo entered as just "Congo" while the Democratic Republic of Congo entered under its former name, Zaire. Iran, Moldova, Laos, Brunei and the United States all entered under their formal names, respectively "Islamic Republic of Iran", "Republic of Moldova", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Brunei Darussalam" and "United States of America".

A record of 197 nations entered the stadium with a combined total of 10,318 athletes.[2] Twenty-three nations made their Olympic debut, including ten of the former Soviet republics, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, that had previously competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992 and Soviet Union before that. Russia competed independently for the first time since 1912. Czech Republic and Slovakia attended the Games independently for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993, whereas Cambodia returned officially after its 24-year absence under the Khmer Republic.[3]

Notable flag bearers in the opening ceremony featured the following athletes: weightlifter Pyrros Dimas (Greece); eventing rider Andrew Hoy (Australia); nine-time Olympian and Star sailor Hubert Raudaschl (Austria); 1984 Olympic middle-distance champion Joaquim Cruz (Brazil) in the 800 metres; track sprinters Charmaine Crooks (Canada) and Marie-José Pérec (France); defending Olympic long-distance champions Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia) and Khalid Skah (Morocco), both in the 10,000 metres; fencers Arnd Schmitt (Germany), Bence Szabó (Hungary), and Giovanna Trillini (Italy); rowing legend Steve Redgrave (Great Britain); swimmers Raimundas Mažuolis (Lithuania) in sprint freestyle and Rafał Szukała (Poland) in the butterfly; windsurfer Barbara Kendall (New Zealand); hurdler and world champion Brigita Bukovec (Slovenia); defending Olympic champions Jan-Ove Waldner (Sweden) in men's table tennis singles, and Andrey Abduvaliyev (Tajikistan) in the hammer throw; pole vaulter and world record holder Sergey Bubka (Ukraine); and super heavyweight wrestlers Alexander Karelin (Russia) in Greco-Roman, and Bruce Baumgartner (United States) in freestyle.[4]

List

The following is a list of each country's announced flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC.

Order Country Flag bearer Sport
1 Greece (GRE)Pyrros DimasWeightlifting
2 Afghanistan (AFG)Muhamed AmanBoxing
3 Albania (ALB)Mirela ManjaniAthletics
4 Algeria (ALG)Karim El-MahouabHandball
5 American Samoa (ASA)Maselino MasoeBoxing
6 Andorra (AND)Aitor OsorioSwimming
7 Angola (ANG)Palmira de AlmeidaHandball
8 Antigua & Barbuda (ANT)Heather SamuelAthletics
9 Argentina (ARG)Carolina MarianiJudo
10 Armenia (ARM)Aghvan GrigoryanWeightlifting
11 Aruba (ARU)Isnardo FaroWeightlifting
12 Australia (AUS)Andrew HoyEquestrian
13 Austria (AUT)Hubert RaudaschlSailing
14 Azerbaijan (AZE)Nazim HuseynovJudo
15 Bahamas (BAH)Frank RutherfordAthletics
16 Bahrain (BRN)Mohamed Al-SalaSailing
17 Bangladesh (BAN)Saiful AlamShooting
18 Barbados (BAR)Obadele ThompsonAthletics
19 Belarus (BLR)Aleksey MedvedevWrestling
20 Belgium (BEL)Jean-Michel SaiveTable tennis
21 Belize (BIZ)Eugène MuslarAthletics
22 Benin (BEN)Laure KueteyAthletics
23 Bermuda (BER)Brian WellmanAthletics
24 Bhutan (BHU)Jubzhang JubzhangArchery
25 Bolivia (BOL)Policarpio CalizayaAthletics
26 Bosnia & Herzegovina (BIH)Islam ÐugumAthletics
27 Botswana (BOT)Justice DipebaAthletics
28 Brazil (BRA)Joaquim CruzAthletics
29 British Virgin Islands (IVB)Keita ClineAthletics
30 Brunei Darussalam (BRU)Jefri BolkiahShooting
31 Bulgaria (BUL)Dimo TonevVolleyball
32 Burkina Faso (BUR)Franck ZioAthletics
33 Burundi (BDI)Dieudonné KwizéraAthletics
34 Cambodia (CAM)To RithyaAthletics
35 Cameroon (CMR)Georgette NkomaAthletics
36 Canada (CAN)Charmaine CrooksAthletics
37 Cape Verde (CPV)Manuel Jesús RodríguesVolleyball (official)
38 Cayman Islands (CAY)Carson EbanksSailing
39 Central African Republic (CAF)Mickaël ConjungoAthletics
40 Chad (CHA)Kaltouma NadjinaAthletics
41 Chile (CHI)Sebastian KeitelAthletics
42 People's Republic of China (CHN)Liu YudongBasketball
43 Colombia (COL)Marlon Pérez ArangoCycling
44 Comoros (COM)Faissoil Ben DaoudAthletics (coach)
45 Congo (CGO)Léontine TsibaAthletics
46 Cook Islands (COK)Sam Nunuke PeraWeightlifting
47 Costa Rica (CRC)Henry NúñezJudo
48 Côte d'Ivoire (CIV)Jean-Olivier ZirignonAthletics
49 Croatia (CRO)Perica BukićWater polo
50 Cuba (CUB)Rolando TuckerFencing
51 Cyprus (CYP)Antonakis AndreouShooting
52 Czech Republic (CZE)Václav ChalupaRowing
53 Denmark (DEN)Thomas Stuer-LauridsenBadminton
54 Djibouti (DJI)Hussein Ahmed SalahAthletics
55 Dominica (DMA)Jérôme RomainAthletics
56 Dominican Republic (DOM)Joan GuzmánBoxing
57 Ecuador (ECU)Felipe DelgadoSwimming
58 Egypt (EGY)Hosam AbdallahHandball
59 El Salvador (ESA)Juan VargasJudo
60 Equatorial Guinea (GEQ)Gustavo Envela MahuaAthletics
61 Estonia (EST)Jüri JaansonRowing
62 Ethiopia (ETH)Derartu TuluAthletics
63 Fiji (FIJ)Jone DelaiAthletics
64 Finland (FIN)Mikko KolehmainenCanoeing
65 The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD)Vladimir BogdevskiHandball (referee)
66 France (FRA)Marie-José PérecAthletics
67 Gabon (GAB)Roger OyemboChef de mission
68 Gambia (GAM)Dawda JallowAthletics
69 Georgia (GEO)Giorgi KandelakiBoxing
70 Germany (GER)Arnd SchmittFencing
71 Ghana (GHA)Moro TijaniBoxing
72 Great Britain (GBR)Steve RedgraveRowing
73 Grenada (GRN)Jason CharterAthletics (coach)
74 Guam (GUM)Patrick SagisiSwimming
75 Guatemala (GUA)Attila SoltiShooting
76 Guinea (GUI)Joseph LouaAthletics
77 Guinea-Bissau (GBS)Talata EmbaloWrestling
78 Guyana (GUY)John DouglasBoxing
79 Haiti (HAI)Adler VolmarJudo
80 Honduras (HON)Darwin AngelesBoxing
81 Hong Kong (HKG)Chan Sau YingAthletics
82 Hungary (HUN)Bence SzabóFencing
83 Iceland (ISL)Jón Arnar MagnússonAthletics
84 India (IND)Pargat SinghField hockey
85 Indonesia (INA)Hendrik SimangunsongBoxing
86 Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)Lida FarimanShooting
87 Iraq (IRQ)Raed AhmedWeightlifting
88 Ireland (IRL)Francie BarrettBoxing
89 Israel (ISR)Lydia HatuelFencing
90 Italy (ITA)Giovanna TrilliniFencing
91 Jamaica (JAM)Juliet CuthbertAthletics
92 Japan (JPN)Ryoko TamuraJudo
93 Jordan (JOR)Walid Al-AwazemJudo (referee)
94 Kazakhstan (KAZ)Yermakhan IbraimovBoxing
95 Kenya (KEN)Paul TergatAthletics
96 Korea (KOR)Choi Cheon-SikVolleyball
97 Kuwait (KUW)Abdullah Al-RashidiShooting
98 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)Sergey AshihminSwimming
99 Lao People's Democratic Republic (LAO)Thongdy AmnouayphoneAthletics
100 Latvia (LAT)Einārs TupurītisAthletics
101 Lebanon (LIB)Mohamed Al-AywanWeightlifting
102 Lesotho (LES)Jassie MathuntaChef de mission
103 Liberia (LBR)Kouty MawenhAthletics
104 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LBA)Mehdi AbdulkheiratOfficial
105 Liechtenstein (LIE)Birgit BlumJudo
106 Lithuania (LTU)Raimundas MažuolisSwimming
107 Luxembourg (LUX)Anne KremerTennis
108 Madagascar (MAD)Dally RandriantefyTennis
109 Malawi (MAW)John MwathiwaAthletics
110 Malaysia (MAS)Nor Saiful ZainiField hockey
111 Maldives (MDV)Ahmed ShageefAthletics
112 Mali (MLI)Monique RossEnvoy
113 Malta (MLT)Carol GaleaAthletics
114 Mauritania (MTN)Noureddine Ould MéniraAthletics
115 Mauritius (MRI)Khemraj NaïkoAthletics
116 Mexico (MEX)Nancy ContrerasCycling
117 Republic of Moldova (MDA)Vadim VacarciucWeightlifting
118 Monaco (MON)Thierry VatricanJudo
119 Mongolia (MGL)Dolgorsürengiin SumyaabazarWrestling
120 Morocco (MAR)Khalid SkahAthletics
121 Mozambique (MOZ)Maria de Lurdes MutolaAthletics
122 Myanmar (MYA)Soe MyintShooting
123 Namibia (NAM)Friedhelm SackShooting
124 Nauru (NRU)Marcus StephenWeightlifting
125 Nepal (NEP)Tika BogatiAthletics
126 Netherlands (NED)Nico RienksRowing
127 Netherlands Antilles (AHO)Sergio MurrayJudo
128 New Zealand (NZL)Barbara KendallSailing
129 Nicaragua (NCA)Walter MartínezShooting
130 Niger (NIG)Abdou ManzoAthletics
131 Nigeria (NGR)Mary Onyali-OmagbemiAthletics
132 Norway (NOR)Linda AndersenSailing
133 Oman (OMA)Khalaf Al-KhatriShooting
134 Pakistan (PAK)Mansoor AhmedField hockey
135 Palestine (PLE)Majed Abu MaraheelAthletics
136 Panama (PAN)Eileen CoparropaSwimming
137 Papua New Guinea (PNG)Subul BaboAthletics
138 Paraguay (PAR)Ramón Jiménez GaonaAthletics
139 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (PRK)Chae Ra-UTable tennis (referee)
140 Peru (PER)Juan GihaShooting
141 Philippines (PHI)Reynaldo GalidoBoxing
142 Poland (POL)Rafał SzukałaSwimming
143 Portugal (POR)Fernanda RibeiroAthletics
144 Puerto Rico (PUR)Ivelisse EchevarríaSoftball
145 Qatar (QAT)Ibrahim Ismail MuftahAthletics
146 Romania (ROM)Iulică RuicanRowing
147 Russian Federation (RUS)Alexander KarelinWrestling
148 Rwanda (RWA)Parfait NtukamyagweAthletics (coach)
149 Saint Kitts & Nevis (SKN)Diane Dunrod-FrancisAthletics
150 Saint Lucia (LCA)Michelle BaptisteAthletics
151 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (VIN)Eswort CoombsAthletics
152 San Marino (SMR)Manlio MolinariAthletics
153 São Tomé & Príncipe (STP)Sortelina PiresAthletics
154 Saudi Arabia (KSA)Khaled Al-KhalidiAthletics
155 Senegal (SEN)Ibou FayeAthletics
156 Seychelles (SEY)Rival CadeauBoxing
157 Sierra Leone (SLE)Eunice BarberAthletics
158 Singapore (SIN)Lee Wung YewShooting
159 Slovakia (SVK)Jozef LohyňaWrestling
160 Slovenia (SLO)Brigita BukovecAthletics
161 Solomon Islands (SOL)Joseph OnikaAthletics (coach)
162 Somalia (SOM)Abdi BileAthletics
163 South Africa (RSA)Masibulele MakepulaBoxing
164 Spain (ESP)Luis DoresteSailing
165 Sri Lanka (SRI)Sriyani KulawansaAthletics
166 Sudan (SUD)Mahmoud Musa AbdullahAthletics (coach)
167 Suriname (SUR)Enrico LinscheerSwimming
168 Swaziland (SWZ)Daniel SibandzeAthletics
169 Sweden (SWE)Jan-Ove WaldnerTable tennis
170 Switzerland (SUI)Stefan SchärerHandball
171 Syrian Arab Republic (SYR)Ghada ShouaaAthletics
172 Chinese Taipei (TPE)Tu Tsai-hsingShooting
173 Tajikistan (TJK)Andrey AbduvaliyevAthletics
174 United Republic of Tanzania (TAN)Ikaji SalumAthletics
175 Thailand (THA)Vissanu SophanichAthletics
176 Togo (TOG)Téko FolliganAthletics
177 Tonga (TGA)Paea WolfgrammBoxing
178 Trinidad & Tobago (TRI)Gene SamuelCycling
179 Tunisia (TUN)Iskander HachichaJudo
180 Turkey (TUR)Derya BüyükuncuSwimming
181 Turkmenistan (TKM)Rozy RejepovWrestling
182 Uganda (UGA)Mary MusokeTable tennis
183 Ukraine (UKR)Sergey BubkaAthletics
184 United Arab Emirates (UAE)Nabil Abdul TahlakShooting
185 Uruguay (URU)Marcelo FilippiniTennis
186 Uzbekistan (UZB)Timur IbragimovBoxing
187 Vanuatu (VAN)Tawai KeiruanAthletics
188 Venezuela (VEN)Francisco SánchezSwimming
189 Vietnam (VIE)Nguyễn Hữu HuyJudo (coach)
190 Virgin Islands (ISV)Lisa NeuburgerSailing
191 Western Samoa (SAM)Bob GasioBoxing
192 Yemen (YEM)Abdullah Al-IzaniWrestling
193 Yugoslavia (YUG)Igor MilanovićWater polo
194 Zaire (ZAI)Lukengu NgalulaBasketball
195 Zambia (ZAM)Davis MwaleBoxing
196 Zimbabwe (ZIM)Tendai ChimusasaAthletics
197 United States of America (USA)Bruce BaumgartnerWrestling

References

  1. "Technical Manual on Ceremonies" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. November 2005. p. 40. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. Longman, Jere (19 July 1996). "Atlanta 1996: The Games Begin; In Atlanta, Festivities Touched by Sorrow". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  3. Fontaine, Chris (9 September 2000). "Pride of Cambodia strut Olympic stage". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  4. Kawakami, Tim (20 July 1996). "Wrapped in Emotions : U.S. Flag-Bearer Baumgartner Loves Honor but Hates Remembering Wrestling Tragedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 September 2013.

See also

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