Winter Olympic Games only country to have earned a gold medal at every Winter Olympics is the United States. Norway leads the all-time medal table for the Winter Olympics both on number of gold and overall medals, followed by the United States, Germany, and the former Soviet Union. A predecessor, the Nordic Games, were organised by General Viktor Gustaf Balck in Stockholm, Sweden in 1901 and were held again in 1903 and 1905 and then every fourth year thereafter until 1926. Balck was a charter member of the IOC and a close friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin. He attempted to
Olympic Games ceremony the next games host (in 2000) and in 2004, because Greece was hosting the games. Then, while the Olympic Hymn is played, the Olympic flag that was hoisted during the opening ceremonies is lowered from the flagpole and carried from the stadium. In what is known as the Antwerp Ceremony (because the tradition began at the Antwerp Games), the mayor of the city that organized the Games transfers a special Olympic flag to the president of the IOC, who then passes it on to the mayor of the city hosting the next Olympic Games. The receiving mayor then waves the