Tokyo 2020
Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony: Order of Parade of Nations explained
Why Ireland walked in before Afghanistan? why Greece walked first? Here's the order of the Parade of Nations in Olympics opening ceremony explained,
Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony: Order of Parade of Nations explained (Source: Getty Images)
The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony started with a grand welcome signifying the world's remarkable effort to continue the Games after devastation led because of the coronavirus.
The biggest highlight of the opening ceremony remained the Parade of Nations, which showcased all the participating nations and their representative athletes.
Athletes from the 205 countries participating in the Tokyo Games opening ceremony are marching their way into the Olympic stadium with their flags held high.
What is the order of the Parade of Nations marching in the opening ceremony?
The Olympic Parade of Nations has been a ritual since the first Olympic games in 1908. This year's Parade had minor changes to the traditional order.
Like every time, Greece were the first one to march in the Parade as they are recognised for their founding role in the Olympic Games.
For the first time ever, Greece was followed by the Refugee Olympic Team, which debuted during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The countries in between are arranged in alphabetical order. However, the order was arranged according to the language of the host country. India marched in the opening ceremony at the 25th position behind the Islamic Republic of Iran.
India saw 20 of their athletes represent the country in the opening ceremony of the grand event on Friday. Boxing great MC Mary Kom and Indian hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh were the flag-bearers at Japan National Stadium.
The host country acts as the grand marshall in the Parade of Nations. Japan will grace the last place in the opening ceremony. However, there is a new addition of rule with the countries appearing just before Japan.
This year the future Olympics host nations have moved to the end of the order before Japan. Just before Japan will be France, hosts of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The United States will go before France, as Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
