The Olympic delegation of Greece parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) — As an Olympic tradition, Greece, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, was the first team to start the parade of athletes into the Bird’s Nest Stadium.
The Olympic delegation of the People’s Republic of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
China, as hosts, marched in last; future Olympic Winter Games hosts Italy (Milano-Cortina 2026) entered the second-from-last under a change approved by the IOC Executive Board in December 2019.
The Olympic delegation of Belarus parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
Other than that, athletes entered in stroke order of their team names as written in the Chinese characters, with Turkey following Greece.
The Olympic delegation of Ghana parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
The teams were led by a placard bearer dressed in costumes with ice and snow patterns. The placards, in the shape of a glowing snowflake with National/Regional Olympic Committee names on them, are inspired by the “Chinese knot,” which is an ancient Chinese craft of hand knitting, symbolizing solidarity and prosperity.
The Olympic delegation of Netherlands parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
