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
Olympic Games ceremony motto. Since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the artistic presentations have continued to grow in scale and complexity. The opening ceremony at the Beijing Games, for example, reportedly cost US$100 million, with much of the cost incurring in the artistic portion of the ceremony. The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a "Parade of Nations", during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country. It is not compulsory for athletes to participate in the opening ceremonies. Because some of the first events of the Games may start on the day before, on the day, or