1988 Winter Olympics national flag bearers celebrating Bicentenary event at that time. 1988 Winter Olympics national flag bearers During the Parade of Nations section of the 1988 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from the participating countries marched into the arena. Each delegation was led by a flag bearer and a sign with the name of the country on it. The Parade of Nations was organized in English, one of the official languages in Canada. As tradition dictates, Greece led the parade and Canada was the last to march to the stadium as the host nation. Organizers played Happy Birthday to You during Australian team march as
Giuseppe Verdi "Dell'invito trascorsa e gia l'ora" from the start of "La traviata". The bicentenary of Verdi's birth in 2013 was celebrated in numerous events around the world, both in performances and broadcasts. In recent years historians have vigorously debated how political Verdi's operas were. In particular, the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" (known as "Va, pensiero") from the third act of the opera "Nabucco" was intended to be an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control in the years up to 1861 (the chorus's theme of exiles singing about their homeland,