Olympic Games ceremony the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris in 1900, which had no opening ceremony before as part of the 1900 World's Fair. There are five examples from the United States alone in which the Games were not opened by the head of state. The Olympic Charter provides that the person designated to open the Games should do so by reciting whichever of the following lines is appropriate: Before 1936, the opening official would often make a short welcoming speech before declaring the Games open. However, since 1936, when Adolf Hitler opened both the Garmisch Partenkirchen Winter Olympics and the
Olympic Games ceremony days, in the Olympic Stadium, and are thus the last medal presentation of the Games. In contrast to the opening ceremonies, many elements of the Olympic closing ceremonies gradually developed more by tradition than official mandate. Like the opening ceremonies, the closing ceremonies begins with the raising of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. The traditional part of the closing ceremonies starts with the "Parade of Flags", where flag bearers from each participating country enter the stadium in single file, with the Greek flag in the lead (honoring the birthplace of the Olympic Games) and