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
Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Four Independent Olympic Athletes competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, in the United Kingdom. These were athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles, and from the newly formed state of South Sudan. This was the third time that athletes had competed as independent participants in the Olympics. None of the athletes have won an Olympic medal. The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, which had planned to continue functioning after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010, had its membership withdrawn by the IOC Executive Committee at the IOC session of