During the Parade of Nations portion of the

1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place in the evening on Friday, July 19 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, United States. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial openi ...

, 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 A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.

Parade order

As the nation of the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

modern

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

marched last. Other countries entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (English), according with tradition and

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

guidelines. Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, mostly due to political and naming disputes. Macedonia entered as "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" because of the naming dispute with Greece. The

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(commonly known as Taiwan) entered with the compromised

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

and

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of "Chinese Taipei" under T so that they did not enter together with conflicting

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(commonly known as China), which entered as the "People's Republic of China" under C. The

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

entered as just "Congo" while the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

entered under its former name,

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

and the United States all entered under their formal names, respectively "Islamic Republic of Iran", "Republic of Moldova", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Brunei Darussalam" and "United States of America". A record of 197 nations entered the stadium with a combined total of 10,318 athletes. Twenty-three nations made their Olympic debut, including ten of the former Soviet republics, namely

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, that had previously competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992 and Soviet Union before that. Russia competed independently for the first time since

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

attended the Games independently for the first time since the breakup of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in 1993, whereas

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

returned officially after its 24-year absence under the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

. Notable flag bearers in the opening ceremony featured the following athletes: weightlifter

Pyrros Dimas Pyrros Dimas ( el, Πύρρος Δήμας; ; born 13 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former weightlifter. He is currently the technical director for USA Weightlifting, having taken that position in June 2017. Dimas has also been involve ...

(Greece); eventing rider

Andrew Hoy Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

(Australia); nine-time Olympian and Star sailor

Hubert Raudaschl Hubert Raudaschl (; born 26 August 1942 in Sankt Gilgen am Wolfgangsee) is an Austrian sailboat manufacturer and former Olympic athlete. He has participated in nine Olympic games between 1964 and 1996. Raudaschl has competed in the s ...

(Austria); 1984 Olympic middle-distance champion

Joaquim Cruz Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born March 12, 1963) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner, winner of the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only five men to run the 800 metres in less than 1 minute, 42 seconds. Biography Cruz wa ...

(Brazil) in the 800 metres; track sprinters

Charmaine Crooks Charmaine Crooks (born August 8, 1962), is a Canadian athlete, five-time Olympian and Olympic Silver Medallist (LA '84, 4X400m Relay). Crooks was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, but represented Canada for close to 20 years in athletics. The first ...

(Canada) and

Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec (born 9 May 1968) is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Athletics career Pérec won the 1991 World Championships 400 metres title ...

(France); defending Olympic long-distance champions

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at ...

(Ethiopia) and

Khalid Skah Khalid Skah ( ar, خالد سكاح) (born 29 January 1967) is a Moroccan track and field athlete, winner of the 10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Born in Midelt, Morocco, Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner ...

(Morocco), both in the 10,000 metres; fencers

Arnd Schmitt Arnd Schmitt (born 13 July 1965 in Heidenheim an der Brenz) is a German fencer and Olympic champion in the épée competition. He won a gold medal in the individual épée and a team silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

(Germany), Bence Szabó (Hungary), and

Giovanna Trillini Giovanna Trillini (born 17 May 1970 in Iesi) is an Italian Foil (fencing), foil fencing, fencer. She is a 4-time Olympic champion (3 times in the team event, 1 time individual) and she won an additional silver and two bronze medals in individual ...

(Italy); rowing legend

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

(Great Britain); swimmers

Raimundas Mažuolis Raimundas Mažuolis (born 9 March 1972 in Vilnius) is a former freestyle swimmer from Lithuania. He competed in the 100 metre freestyle at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, finishing second in the B final in a time of 50. ...

(Lithuania) in sprint freestyle and

Rafał Szukała Rafał Marek Szukała (born 9 April 1971 in Poznań) is a former butterfly swimmer from Poland, who won the silver medal in the men's 100 m butterfly at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Szukała competed in three consequenti ...

(Poland) in the butterfly; windsurfer

Barbara Kendall Barbara Anne Kendall (born 30 August 1967) is a former boardsailor from New Zealand. She competed at five Summer Olympic Games and won gold, silver and bronze medals. Biography Kendall was born in Papakura on 30 August 1967, the daughter of ...

(New Zealand); hurdler and world champion

Brigita Bukovec Brigita Bukovec (born 21 May 1970) is a retired Slovenian hurdler who won an Olympic silver medal in 1996. During the Olympics she set a personal best time with 12.59 seconds. She stopped competing on top level after the 1999 season. Biog ...

(Slovenia); defending Olympic champions

Jan-Ove Waldner Jan-Ove Waldner (; born 3 October 1965),Jan-Ove Waldner profile.'' Swedish Table Tennis Federation in Sweden commonly ''J-O Waldner'' (, is a Swedish former table tennis player. He is often referred to as "the Mozart of table tennis."Bishop, G. ...

(Sweden) in men's table tennis singles, and

Andrey Abduvaliyev Andrey Hakimovich Abduvaliyev (russian: Андрей Хакимович Абдувалиев; born 30 June 1966) is a former Soviet, Tajikistani, and Uzbekistani hammer thrower. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics while representing t ...

(Tajikistan) in the hammer throw; pole vaulter and world record holder

Sergey Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka ( uk, Сергій Назарович Бубка; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by ''Tr ...

(Ukraine); and super heavyweight wrestlers

Alexander Karelin Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin ( rus, Александр Александрович Карелин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kəˈrʲelʲɪn; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete. Karelin comp ...

(Russia) in Greco-Roman, and

Bruce Baumgartner Bruce Robert Baumgartner (born November 2, 1960) is a retired American freestyle wrestler. He is the current assistant vice president for university advancement and former athletic director at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania near Erie, Pe ...

(United States) in freestyle.

List

The following is a list of each country's announced flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC.

Parade order

List

References

See also