2004 Summer Olympics national flag bearers 2004 Summer Olympics national flag bearers During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2004 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. The national team of Greece, as the host nation, entered the stadium last, breaking the tradition that the Greek national team enter first in every Olympic opening ceremony as a tribute for being the original host of both the
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony respect for their colleague, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died in a luge accident earlier that day. The team left an empty space in the processional and left the stadium immediately following the procession. They had indicated they would not participate in the opening ceremony or withdraw completely, but decided against doing so. The team wore black scarves and armbands to honor Kumaritashvili while a black ribbon was affixed to the team's flag. Teams from some countries, including Australia, Azerbaijan also wore black armbands in respect of Kumaritashvili. China, which hosted the last Olympics in Beijing, also got a standing ovation due