2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations
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During the Parade of Nations within the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes and officials from each participating team marched in the Maracanã Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.
Parade order
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Greece entered first, as the nation of the ancient and first modern Olympic Games. The host nation Brazil marched last. Other teams entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (Portuguese), according with tradition and IOC guidelines.[1] Announcers in the stadium read off the names of the marching teams in French and English (the official languages of the Olympics) as well as Portuguese, with music accompanying the athletes as they marched into the stadium.
While most countries entered teams under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, sometimes due to political or naming disputes or for historical reasons. North Macedonia entered as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" (Portuguese: Ex-República Iugoslava da Macedônia) under E because of the naming dispute with Greece until 2020. The People's Republic of China (commonly known as China), entered as the "People's Republic of China" (República Popular da China) under C. The Republic of the Congo entered as just "Congo", right before the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which entered under its full name (República Democrática do Congo). Similarly, South Korea entered as "Republic of Korea" (República da Coreia) under C while North Korea entered as "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (República Popular Democrática da Coreia). The team from the United Kingdom entered under Great Britain, for historical reasons. Additionally, Brunei, Ivory Coast, the United States, Hong Kong, Iran, Laos, Moldova, Russia, Syria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, the United States Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands all entered under their formal names, respectively "Brunei Darussalam" (Brunei Darussalam), "Côte d’Ivoire" (Costa do Marfim), "United States of America" (Estados Unidos da América), "Hong Kong, China" (Hong Kong, China), "Islamic Republic of Iran" (República Islâmica do Irã), "Lao People's Democratic Republic" (República Popular Democrática do Laos), "Republic of Moldova" (República da Moldova), "Russian Federation" (Federação da Rússia), "Syrian Arab Republic" (República Árabe da Síria), "United Republic of Tanzania" (República Unida da Tanzânia), "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" (República Democrática de Timor-Leste), "American Virgin Islands" (Ilhas Virgens Americanas), and "British Virgin Islands" (Ilhas Virgens Britânicas).
The Refugee Olympic Team, composed of refugees from several countries, went second to last and received a standing ovation.
Host nation Brazil entered the stadium while the song "Aquarela do Brasil" was being played on the speakers.
Teams and flagbearers
Below is a list of parading teams their announced flag bearer in the same order as the parade. Names are given in the form officially designated by the IOC.
