2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations During the Parade of Nations within the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes and officials from each participating country marched in the Maracanã Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the nation's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves. In keeping with Olympic traditions, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic games, entered first, while Brazil, the host nation, went last. The Refugee Olympic Team, composed of refugees from several countries, went second to last and received a standing ovation. Other countries
2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony Ryan writing for the same paper notes that "it was a seismic beginning for an opening ceremony that seemed smaller than its Olympic counterpart one month ago. It seemed lower key, perhaps, with less fanfare and more poignancy than brash spectacle. But by midnight, wonder was literally flying through the air." Ryan states that the ceremony "was beauty, a thrust of anger, and a spotlight on athletes too often in the shade." Ryan notes that the ceremony was thoughtful and combined emotional and complex ideas with the mystical. Concluding Ryan notes that Miranda smashing the ceiling was fiction but "in