Ever wondered why Greece is always the first country to enter the stadium during the Olympic Games and will do so also in Paris next week?
The Greek delegation, however small or large, has consistently since 1908, when the first Parade of Nations took place in London, marched in first as an honor to the country where the Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC.
Those games were revived again in 1896, when Athens hosted the 1st Modern Olympics with the participation of male-only athletes from some 14 countries.
The only time Greece paraded last was in 2004 when Athens hosted the Olympic Games.
The five Olympic rings are lit with fire in a pool in the Athens Olympic Stadium during the 2004 summer games opening ceremony, 13 August 2004. AFP PHOTO / Jean-Philippe KSIAZEK
The first Greek flag bearer in 1908 was discus thrower Nikolaos Georgantas. Since then, Greece has participated in every summer Olympics naming its top athletes as flag bearers.
The Greek team, carrying a giant Greek flag, marches into the Olympic stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Friday 13 August 2004, when team of Greece walking in. More than 10.800 athletes compete in the Games. EPA/HANS KLAUS TECHT
On July 26, 101 Greek athletes will be ‘parading’ on boats along the Seine River during the innovative and highly anticipated opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
This year, NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and race walker Antigoni Drisbioti will carry the Greek flag together during the Paris opening ceremony.
Go Team Hellas!
“Team Hellas” – also known as “Team Greece” – will be joining some 10,500 athletes from 206 countries in the Paris Games. Representing Greece, 42 female and 59 male athletes trying their luck in 17 sports.
Greece’s largest-ever delegation was in 1896 in Athens with some 212 athletes, in 2004 with 426, and in Beijing (2008) with 152.
Overall, the Paris Olympics will feature 329 events and 32 sports, including ‘new arrivals’ surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding, BMX freestyle, and 3×3 basketball. This year, urban dance style “breaking” will make its debut.
Olympic Flame Starts from Greece
According to custom, the Olympic Flame, a symbol of peace and unity, is always lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, before the Games regardless of host country. The first ceremony took place in 1936 for the Berlin Games.
The Olympic Flame is ritualistically lit with the sun’s rays after an actress in the role of a high priestess appeals to Apollo, the god of light. Once the flame ignites, a verse by Pindar is recited and white doves released into the sky.
From Olympia, the lit torch ‘travels’ from one athlete to another to reach the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, and then the host country where it will light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony and remain alight until the end of the Games.
The Olympic torch has been transported from Olympia to dozens of cities and countries worldwide by boat, plane, on horseback, canoe, camel, and even into space.
Paris 2024 Olympics – Olympic Torch is welcomed in Paris – Paris, France – July 14, 2024 Singer JR and former French skier Sandra Laoura during the Olympic torch relay at the Louvre Museum REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Greeks and Their Olympic Medals
Greece has won a total of 121 medals – 35 gold, 45 silver and 41 bronze – in 15 different sports ranking 33rd in the all-time Summer Olympics medal count.
Most of the country’s medals have been in weightlifting, track and field, and shooting.
During the 1st Olympics in 1896, Greeks won 47 medals, the most overall.
Athletes from Greece have also won a total of 104 medals in the Paralympics with the country’s first participation in the 1976 Toronto Games.
Paris Olympics Breaking New Ground
This year, Paris organizers have taken a daring decision: the opening ceremony, the largest to be held in the history of the Olympics, will take place outside the traditional stadium. Instead, the world’s athletes will be ‘parading’ on riverboats down the Seine.
Spectators and those lucky enough to have secured seats at riverside stands or on bridges will see the Parade of Nations as a tour of the Seine at sunset featuring beautiful Paris and its iconic landmarks, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, Pont Neuf and Musée d’Orsay by day and night.
Paris 2024 Olympics – Olympics volleyball venue filled with sand at the base of the Eiffel Tower – Paris, France – July 10, 2024 General view of the Eiffel Tower Stadium, the venue for beach volleyball at the Olympics REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo
A view shows the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games in Paris, France, July 14, 2024. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
The 6km ‘Olympic’ boat ride will end at Trocadéro, where a massive show awaits audiences and participants.
The Paris Games are the first in Olympics history to achieve an equal number of male and female participants.
Also participating in the 2024 Paris Games, the Refugee Olympic Team with athletes participating independently under the Olympic flag. The team first participated in the 2016 Games raising awareness about the plight of refugees and sending a message of hope.
The Refugee Olympic Team will appear second after Greece in the Parade of Nations.
Paris organizers expect more than 10 million tickets to be sold and billions of people to watch live. Meanwhile, some 40,000 agents will be on duty to ensure safety.
Greece and the Olympics Games
Greece has hosted the Olympics twice: in 1896 and in 2004 both in Athens.
Greek Dimosthenis Tampakos performs on the parallel bars 14 August 2004 at the Olympic Indoor Hall during the men’s gymnastics artistic qualification of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO / Odd ANDERSEN
For the first time in Greek Olympic history, in Tokyo in 2020, two athletes led the Parade of Nations holding the Greek flag.
Other firsts include Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou who was the first woman in Greek history to carry the Greek flag into the stadium during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The first Greek woman athlete to compete in the Olympics was sprinter Domnitsa Lanitou-Kavounidou in Berlin in 1936.
The Olympic Hymn penned by Greek composer Spyridon Samaras to the lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas is performed during the opening and closing ceremonies of all Olympic Games when the Olympic flag is raised and lowered.
* The ΧΧΧΙΙΙ Olympic Games in Paris will be broadcast live by Greece’s public broadcaster through to August 11. Tune in to the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26 at 8.30 p.m. local time.
