During the Parade of Nations section of the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena. The flag from each team was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. Due the rules stipulated by the Olympic Charter (and political issues between China and Chinese Taipei along the two Koreas) at the time the Organizing Committee opted for the option of the protocol order in English, instead of host nation's language,
Japanese. Greece led the parade, followed by
Andorra. Had the parade followed the Japanese characters, Greece would have been followed by Iceland, and Russian Federation would have been the penultimate country before
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. One
sumo wrestler
A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official ...
and one ''yukiko'' (''lit.'' snow children) which bears a country name sign marched before each delegation. Some of famous sumo wrestlers such as
Takanonami and
Wakanohana accompanied the teams.
The ''yukikos'' also took part in several other segments in the ceremony.
References
External links
Countries - Sports-Reference.comおすもうさんと子供が先導 長野五輪 入場行進 ギリシャ(貴ノ浪)～フランス(琴龍) - YouTube1998長野五輪 開会式（２）入場行進 Athletes March at Olympic Opening Ceremony - YouTube1998 Olympics Opening Ceremony In Nagano Part 6
{{Olympic Games national flag bearers by year
1998 Winter Olympics
Lists of Olympic flag bearers