2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2008 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. Per tradition, the national team of Greece, which hosted the previous Summer Olympics, in Athens, entered first as the progenitor of the Olympic Games, and the host country, in this case the People's Republic of China, marched last. All
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony to the large Chinese population in Vancouver, as did the United States, which received the loudest ovation before Canada entered two minutes later. Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams, both themselves Vancouver residents performed "Bang the Drum", which was written by Adams and producer Jim Vallance as a tribute to the Olympic athletes present. The cultural section of the Opening Ceremony was titled "The Landscape of a Dream" whose purpose was to celebrate the diverse geography and people of Canada. It was directed by David Atkins and the narration was provided by Donald Sutherland, himself one of the Olympic flag bearers.