Olympics opening ceremony order, explained: How Parade of Nations works and why Greece always enters first

Sarah Effress

Olympics opening ceremony order, explained: How Parade of Nations works and why Greece always enters first image

A tradition over a century old, the Parade of Nations is a trademark feature of the Olympic opening ceremony. Beginning at the 1908 London Games, the event is a chance for every participating nation to showcase their athletes and culture through the presentation. 

Thousands of athletes will embark on the Seine this year in boats, taking a nice ride through the center of Paris among throngs of fans in a reimagined opening ceremony. The parade takes place in a very specific order that honors the tradition of the Games, as well as its current and future hosts.

The scene will be a spectacle, and Paris will light up with the colors of every country that embarked on its Olympic journey this year. Find out what the order of the parade entails below.

MORE OPENING CEREMONY: How to watch | Inside the route | Who will light the torch?

Olympics opening ceremony order, explained

Countries have always entered the Parade of Nations alphabetically in the language of the host nation. For example, Team USA entered the Mexico Games in 1968 at the beginning of the parade as the "Estados Unidos," but at Beijing 2008, the US entered 139th based on the Chinese alphabet. This year, the list is determined in French.

The host nation traditionally enters last. Additionally, at the 2020 Tokyo Games, a new tradition was born where the upcoming Games host entered second- and third-to-last. For the Paris games, that means the U.S. (Los Angeles 2028) will enter before France, and Australia (Brisbane 2032) will enter before the U.S. 

The Refugee Olympic Team has entered second, after Greece, since the 2020 Games, as well. Individuals on this team compete under the Olympic flag. Russian and Belarusian athletes, competing as Individual Neutral athletes, will not take part in the Parade of Nations. 

Why does Greece always enter the Parade of Nations first?

The only other exception to the alphabetical rule is Greece. Starting at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, coaches and athletes from Greece entered first in order to honor the birthplace of the modern Olympics. The only time since that Greece has not led the procession was in 2004 when Athens hosted the Summer Games.

Order of countries in Olympic opening ceremony

1Greece
2Refugee Olympic Team
3Afghanistan
4South Africa
5Albania
6Algeria
7Germany
8Andorra
9Angola
10Antigua and Barbuda
11Saudi Arabia
12Argentina
13Armenia
14Aruba
15Austria
16Azerbaijan
17Bahamas
18Bahrain
19Bangladesh
20Bahrain
21Belgium
22Belize
23Benin
24Bermuda
25Bhutan
26Bolivia
27Bosnia and Herzegovina
28Botswana
29Brazil
30Brunei
31Bulgaria
32Burkina Faso
33Burundi
34Cayman Islands
35Cambodia
36Cameroon
37Canada
38Cape Verde
39Central Africa Republic
40Chile
41China
42Cyprus
43Colombia
44Comoros
45Republic of the Congo
46Democratic Republic of the Congo
47Cook Islands
48South Korea
49Costa Rica
50Ivory Coast
51Croatia
52Cuba
53Denmark
54Djibouti
55Dominican Republic
56Dominica
57Egypt
58El Salvador
59United Arab Emirates
60Ecuador
61Eritrea
62Spain
63Estonia
64Eswatini
65Ethiopia
66Fiji
67Finland
68Gabon
69The Gambia
70Georgia
71Ghana
72Great Britain
73Grenada
74Guam
75Guatemala
76Guinea
77Guinea-Bissau
78Equatorial Guinea
79Guyana
80Haiti
81Honduras
82Hong Kong
83Hungary
84India
85Indonesia
86Iran
87Iraq
88Ireland
89Iceland
90Israel
91Italy
92Jamaica
93Japan
94Jordan
95Kazakhstan
96Kenya
97Kyrgyzstan
98Kiribati
99Kosovo
100Kuwait
101Laos
102Lesotho
103Latvia
104Lebanon
105Liberia
106Libya
107Liechtenstein
108Lithuania
109Luxembourg
110North Macedonia
111Madagascar
112Malaysia
113Malawi
114Maldives
115Mali
116Malta
117Morocco
118Marshall Islands
119Mauritius
120Mauritania
121Mexico
122Federated States of Micronesia
123Moldova
124Monaco
125Mongolia
126Montenegro
127Mozambique
128Myanmar
129Namibia
130Nauru
131Nepal
132Nicaragua
133Niger
134Nigeria
135Norway
136New Zealand
137Oman
138Uganda
139Uzbekistan
140Pakistan
141Palau
142Palestine
143Panama
144Papua New Guinea
145Paraguay
146Netherlands
147Peru
148Philippines
149Poland
150Puerto Rico
151Portugal
152Qatar
153North Korea
154Romania
155Rwanda
156Saint Kitts and Nevis
157Saint Lucia
158San Marino
159Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
160Solomon Islands
161Samoa
162American Samoa
163Sao Tome and Principe
164Senegal
165Serbia
166Seychelles
167Sierra Leone
168Singapore
169Slovakia
170Slovenia
171Somalia
172South Sudan
173Sudan
174Sri Lanka
175Sweden
176Switzerland
177Suriname
178Syria
179Tajikistan
180Chinese Taipei
181Tanzania
182Chad
183Czech Republic
184Thailand
185East Timor
186Togo
187Tonga
188Trinidad and Tobago
189Tunisia
190Turkmenistan
191Turkey
192Tuvalu
193Ukraine
194Uruguay
195Vanuatu
196Venezuela
197British Virgin Islands
198Virgin Islands
199Vietnam
200Yemen
201Zambia
202Zimbabwe
203Australia
204United States
205France

Sarah Effress

Sarah Effress Photo

Sarah Effress is an editorial intern for The Sporting News. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, and loves to talk soccer and women's college sports.