Olympic Games ceremony Olympic Games ceremony Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games, the medal winners received a crown of olive branches, which was a direct reference to the Ancient Games, in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements
State Procession at the State Opening of Parliament Abbey early for this purpose.) In due course, the heralds, who had the responsibility (under the Earl Marshal's direction) for marshaling the procession, began to keep detailed records of the event, the earliest of which dates from Henry VIII's first Opening of Parliament in 1510. The 1512 account includes an illustration of the Procession depicting participants together with their armorial bearings. It shows the Lords Spiritual at the front of the procession, accompanied by Heralds and Gentlemen Ushers; the Serjeants-at-Arms follow with their maces, just ahead of Garter King of Arms. The King is preceded by the Cap of Maintenance,