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
2014 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony Alexander Petrov. Tchaikovsky's "Sugar Plum Fairy" and an homage to ice fishing were among the performances. Many of the show's 2500 performers were disabled, including singer Yuliya Samoylova who led the choir in a performance of "Together". During the March of Nations, athletes entered from a central ramp, just as in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Soviet-era rock music played as the nations alphabetically (in the Russian alphabet) paraded through a "forest" of 204 light poles. Ukraine was represented by a single athlete carrying their flag to represent the 23-person team in an apparent protest to the