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.

Parade order

As the nation of the first modern Olympic Games, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation of Australia 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 "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 with its full name. Iran, Micronesia, Moldova, Laos, Brunei and the United States all entered under their formal names, respectively "Islamic Republic of Iran", "Federated States of Micronesia", "Republic of Moldova", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Brunei Darussalam" and "United States of America".

A record of 199 nations entered the stadium with the exception of Afghanistan, a nation banned by the IOC in 1999 because of the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression on women and its sports.[2][3] The parade of nations also featured a unified entrance by the athletes of the North and South Korea, holding a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean peninsula; however, the two teams competed separately.[4] Four athletes from East Timor marched directly in the opening ceremonies as individual Olympic athletes before the host nation. Without the existence of the National Olympic Committee, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.[5]

Notable flag bearers in the opening ceremony featured the following athletes: windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (Greece), Olympic beach volleyball champion Sandra Pires (Brazil), tennis player Nicolás Massú (Chile), heavyweight boxing champion Félix Savón (Cuba), long-distance runner Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia), sprint kayaker and five-time gold medalist Birgit Fischer (Germany), coxless pairs rower and double gold medalist Matthew Pinsent (Great Britain), show jumper Princess Haya (Jordan), discus thrower and 1992 Olympic champion Romas Ubartas (Lithuania), dressage rider Anky van Grunsven (Netherlands), middle-distance runner Vebjørn Rodal (Norway), two-time Greco-Roman wrestling champion Andrzej Wroński (Poland), five-time rowing champion Elisabeta Lipă (Romania), four-time Olympic handballer Andrey Lavrov (Russia), six-time Olympic water polo player Manuel Estiarte (Spain), and basketball players Carlton Myers (Italy) and Andrew Gaze (Australia).

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 Nation Flag bearer Sport
1 Greece (GRE)Nikolaos KaklamanakisSailing
2 Albania (ALB)Ilirjan SuliWeightlifting
3 Algeria (ALG)Djabir Saïd-GuerniAthletics
4 American Samoa (ASA)Lisa MisipekaAthletics
5 Andorra (AND)Antoni BernadóAthletics
6 Angola (ANG)Nádia CruzSwimming
7 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT)Heather SamuelAthletics
8 Argentina (ARG)Carlos EspínolaSailing
9 Armenia (ARM)Haykaz GalstyanWrestling
10 Aruba (ARU)Richard RodriguezAthletics
11 Austria (AUT)Wolfram Waibel Jr.Shooting
12 Azerbaijan (AZE)Namig AbdullayevWrestling
13 Bahamas (BAH)Pauline Davis-ThompsonAthletics
14 Bahrain (BRN)Dawood YoussefSwimming
15 Bangladesh (BAN)Sabrina SultanaShooting
16 Barbados (BAR)Andrea BlackettAthletics
17 Belarus (BLR)Siarhei LishtvanWrestling
18 Belgium (BEL)Ulla WerbrouckJudo
19 Belize (BIZ)Emma WadeAthletics
20 Benin (BEN)Laure KueteyAthletics
21 Bermuda (BER)Mary Jane TumbridgeEquestrian
22 Bhutan (BHU)Jubzhang JubzhangArchery
23 Bolivia (BOL)Marco CondoriAthletics
24 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH)Elvir KrehmićAthletics
25 Botswana (BOT)Gilbert KhunwaneBoxing
26 Brazil (BRA)Sandra PiresBeach volleyball
27 British Virgin Islands (IVB)Keita ClineAthletics
28 Brunei Darussalam (BRU)Haseri AsliAthletics
29 Bulgaria (BUL)Ivo YanakievRowing
30 Burkina Faso (BUR)Sarah TondéAthletics
31 Burundi (BDI)Diane NukuriAthletics
32 Cambodia (CAM)To RithyaAthletics
33 Cameroon (CMR)Cécile NgambiAthletics (non-participant)
34 Canada (CAN)Caroline BrunetCanoeing
35 Cape Verde (CPV)Isménia do FredericoAthletics
36 Cayman Islands (CAY)Kareem Streete-ThompsonAthletics
37 Central African Republic (CAF)Mickaël ConjungoAthletics
38 Chad (CHA)Gana Abba KimetAthletics
39 Chile (CHI)Nicolás MassúTennis
40 People's Republic of China (CHN)Liu YudongBasketball
41 Colombia (COL)María Isabel UrrutiaWeightlifting
42 Comoros (COM)Shareef MohammedOfficial
43 Congo (CGO)Marien Michel NgouabiSwimming
44 Cook Islands (COK)Turia VogelSailing
45 Costa Rica (CRC)Karina FernándezTriathlon
46 Côte d'Ivoire (CIV)Ibrahim MeitéAthletics
47 Croatia (CRO)Zoran PrimoracTable tennis
48 Cuba (CUB)Félix SavónBoxing
49 Cyprus (CYP)Antonakis AndreouShooting
50 Czech Republic (CZE)Martin DoktorCanoeing
51 Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)Mwenze KalomboAthletics
52 Denmark (DEN)Jesper BankSailing
53 Djibouti (DJI)Djama RoblehAthletics (non-participant)
54 Dominica (DMA)Marcia DanielAthletics
55 Dominican Republic (DOM)Wanda RijoWeightlifting
56 Ecuador (ECU)Martha TenorioAthletics
57 Egypt (EGY)Yahia RashwanTaekwondo
58 El Salvador (ESA)Eva DimasWeightlifting
59 Equatorial Guinea (GEQ)Eric MoussambaniSwimming
60 Eritrea (ERI)Nebiat HabtemariamAthletics
61 Estonia (EST)Tõnu TõnisteSailing
62 Ethiopia (ETH)Derartu TuluAthletics
63 Fiji (FIJ)Tony PhilpSailing
64 Finland (FIN)Olli-Pekka KarjalainenAthletics
65 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD)Lazar PopovskiCanoeing
66 France (FRA)David DouilletJudo
67 Gabon (GAB)Mélanie EngoangJudo
68 Gambia (GAM)Adama NjieAthletics
69 Georgia (GEO)Giorgi AsanidzeWeightlifting
70 Germany (GER)Birgit FischerCanoeing
71 Ghana (GHA)Kennedy OseiAthletics
72 Great Britain (GBR)Matthew PinsentRowing
73 Grenada (GRN)Hazel-Ann RegisAthletics
74 Guam (GUM)Melissa Lynn FejeranWeightlifting
75 Guatemala (GUA)Attila SoltiShooting
76 Guinea (GUI)Joseph LouaAthletics
77 Guinea-Bissau (GBS)Talata EmbaloWrestling
78 Guyana (GUY)Aliann PompeyAthletics
79 Haiti (HAI)Nadine Faustin-ParkerAthletics
80 Honduras (HON)Alejandro CastellanosSwimming
81 Hong Kong, China (HKG)Fenella NgRowing
82 Hungary (HUN)Rita KőbánCanoeing
83 Iceland (ISL)Guðrún ArnardóttirAthletics
84 India (IND)Leander PaesTennis
85 Indonesia (INA)Rexy MainakyBadminton
86 Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)Amir Reza KhademWrestling
87 Iraq (IRQ)Bashar Mohammad AliChef de mission
88 Ireland (IRL)Sonia O'SullivanAthletics
89 Israel (ISR)Rogel NachumAthletics
90 Italy (ITA)Carlton MyersBasketball
91 Jamaica (JAM)Deon HemmingsAthletics
92 Japan (JPN)Kosei InoueJudo
93 Jordan (JOR)Princess HayaEquestrian
94 Kazakhstan (KAZ)Yermakhan IbraimovBoxing
95 Kenya (KEN)Kennedy OchiengAthletics
96Korea (North) (PRK)Pak Jung-chulOfficial
96Korea (South) (KOR)Chung Eun-soonBasketball
97 Kuwait (KUW)Fawzi Al-ShammariAthletics
98 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)Raatbek SanatbayevWrestling
99 Lao People's Democratic Republic (LAO)Sisomphone VongpharkdyAthletics
100 Latvia (LAT)Voldemārs LūsisAthletics
101 Lebanon (LIB)Jean-Claude RabbathAthletics
102 Lesotho (LES)Mokete MokhosiTaekwondo
103 Liberia (LBR)Kouty MawenhAthletics
104 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LBA)Nizar NaeeliTaekwondo
105 Liechtenstein (LIE)Oliver GeissmannShooting
106 Lithuania (LTU)Romas UbartasAthletics
107 Luxembourg (LUX)Lara HeinzSwimming
108 Madagascar (MAD)Joseph-Berlioz RandriamihajaAthletics
109 Malawi (MAW)Francis MunthaliAthletics
110 Malaysia (MAS)Mirnawan NawawiField hockey
111 Maldives (MDV)Naseer IsmailAthletics
112 Mali (MLI)Brahima GuindoJudo
113 Malta (MLT)Laurie PaceJudo
114 Mauritania (MTN)Sidi Mohamed Ould BidjelAthletics
115 Mauritius (MRI)Michael MacaqueBoxing
116 Mexico (MEX)Fernando PlatasDiving
117 Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)Manuel MinginfelWeightlifting
118 Republic of Moldova (MDA)Vadim VacarciucWeightlifting
119 Monaco (MON)Thierry VatricanJudo
120 Mongolia (MGL)Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-ErdeneJudo
121 Morocco (MAR)Adil BelgaidJudo
122 Mozambique (MOZ)Jorge DuvaneAthletics
123 Myanmar (MYA)Maung Maung NgeAthletics
124 Namibia (NAM)Paulus Ali NuumbembeBoxing
125 Nauru (NRU)Marcus StephenWeightlifting
126 Nepal (NEP)Chitra Bahadur GurungSwimming
127 Netherlands (NED)Anky van GrunsvenEquestrian
128 Netherlands Antilles (AHO)Cor van AanholtSailing
129 New Zealand (NZL)Blyth TaitEquestrian
130 Nicaragua (NCA)Walter MartínezShooting
131 Niger (NIG)Mamane Sani AliAthletics
132 Nigeria (NGR)Sunday BadaAthletics
133 Norway (NOR)Vebjørn RodalAthletics
134 Oman (OMA)Mohamed Amer Al-MalkyAthletics
135 Pakistan (PAK)Ahmed AlamField hockey
136 Palau (PLW)Valerie PedroWeightlifting
137 Palestine (PLE)Ramy DeebAthletics
138 Panama (PAN)Eileen CoparropaSwimming
139 Papua New Guinea (PNG)Xenia PeniSwimming
140 Paraguay (PAR)Nery KennedyAthletics
141 Peru (PER)Rosa GarcíaVolleyball
142 Philippines (PHI)Donald GeislerTaekwondo
143 Poland (POL)Andrzej WrońskiWrestling
144 Portugal (POR)Miguel MaiaBeach volleyball
145 Puerto Rico (PUR)Enrique FigueroaSailing
146 Qatar (QAT)Ibrahim Ismail MuftahAthletics
147 Romania (ROM)Elisabeta LipăRowing
148 Russian Federation (RUS)Andrey LavrovHandball
149 Rwanda (RWA)Pierre KaremeraOfficial
150 Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN)Kim CollinsAthletics
151 Saint Lucia (LCA)Dominic JohnsonAthletics
152 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN)Pamenos BallantyneAthletics
153 Samoa (SAM)Pauga LalauBoxing
154 San Marino (SMR)Emanuela FeliciShooting
155 São Tomé and Príncipe (STP)Naide GomesAthletics
156 Saudi Arabia (KSA)Khaled Al-DosariTaekwondo
157 Senegal (SEN)Mame Tacko DioufAthletics
158 Seychelles (SEY)Benjamin Lo-PintoSwimming
159 Sierra Leone (SLE)Ekundayo WilliamsAthletics
160 Singapore (SIN)Joscelin YeoSwimming
161 Slovakia (SVK)Slavomír KňazovickýCanoeing
162 Slovenia (SLO)Iztok ČopRowing
163 Solomon Islands (SOL)Primo HigaAthletics
164 Somalia (SOM)Ibrahim Mohamed AdenAthletics
165 South Africa (RSA)Hezekiél SepengAthletics
166 Spain (ESP)Manuel EstiarteWater polo
167 Sri Lanka (SRI)Damayanthi DharshaAthletics
168 Sudan (SUD)Mahmoud KienoChef de mission
169 Suriname (SUR)Letitia VriesdeAthletics
170 Swaziland (SWZ)Musa SimelaneBoxing
171 Sweden (SWE)Anna OlssonCanoeing
172 Switzerland (SUI)Thomas FrischknechtCycling
173 Syrian Arab Republic (SYR)Moutassem GhotouqChef de mission
174 Chinese Taipei (TPE)Chiang Peng-lungTable tennis
175 Tajikistan (TJK)Khurshed HasanovBoxing
176 United Republic of Tanzania (TAN)Restituta JosephAthletics
177 Thailand (THA)Somluck KamsingBoxing
178 Togo (TOG)Kouami Sacha DenanyohJudo
179 Tonga (TGA)Ana Siulolo LikuAthletics
180 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)Ato BoldonAthletics
181 Tunisia (TUN)Omrane AyariWrestling
182 Turkey (TUR)Hamza YerlikayaWrestling
183 Turkmenistan (TKM)Chary MamedovAthletics
184 Uganda (UGA)Muhamed KizitoBoxing
185 Ukraine (UKR)Yevhen BraslavetsSailing
186 United Arab Emirates (UAE)Saeed Al-MaktoumShooting
187 United States of America (USA)Cliff MeidlCanoeing
188 Uruguay (URU)Mónica FalcioniAthletics
189 Uzbekistan (UZB)Mahammatkodir AbdullaevBoxing
190 Vanuatu (VAN)Mary-Estelle KapaluAthletics
191 Venezuela (VEN)Adriana CarmonaTaekwondo
192 Vietnam (VIE)Trương Ngọc ĐểChef de mission
193 Virgin Islands (ISV)Ameerah BelloAthletics
194 Yemen (YEM)Basheer Al-KhewaniAthletics
195 Yugoslavia (YUG)Vladimir GrbićVolleyball
196 Zambia (ZAM)Samuel MateteAthletics
197 Zimbabwe (ZIM)Philip MukomanaAthletics
198 Individual Olympic Athletes (IOA)Victor RamosBoxing
199 Australia (AUS)Andrew GazeBasketball

References

  1. "Technical Manual on Ceremonies" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. November 2005. p. 40. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  2. "Eligible for Athens: Afghanistan welcomed back into IOC fold". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 29 June 2003. Archived from the original on 27 March 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  3. Robbins, Liz (7 June 2004). "Eligible for Athens: Afghanistan welcomed back into IOC fold". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  4. "Olympic spirit: North, South Koreans march together in Ceremonies". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 14 September 2000. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  5. Hersh, Phillip (9 September 2000). "Four Participants In Sydney Wear 'Individual Olympic Athletes' Badges. They're From Devastated East Timor, And Their Presence Embodies The Games' True Spirit". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 September 2013.

See also

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