2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2008 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. Per tradition, the national team of Greece, which hosted the previous Summer Olympics, in Athens, entered first as the progenitor of the Olympic Games, and the host country, in this case the People's Republic of China, marched last. All
Independent Olympians at the Olympic Games Independent Olympic Participants. Macedonian athletes could not appear under their own flag because their National Olympic Committee (NOC) had not been formed. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was under United Nations sanctions which prevented the country from taking part in the Olympics. However, individual Yugoslav athletes were allowed to take part as Independent Olympic Participants. 58 athletes competed as Independent Olympic Participants, winning three medals. The former Soviet Union competed under the Olympic flag at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics as a Unified Team. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, four athletes from East Timor