During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
Parade order As the nation of the first modern Olympic Games, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation of Australia marched last. Other countries entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (English), according with tradition and IOC guidelines.
Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, mostly due to political and naming disputes. Macedonia entered as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" because of the naming dispute with Greece. The Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) entered with the compromised name and flag of "Chinese Taipei" under T so that they did not enter together with conflicting People's Republic of China (commonly known as China), which entered as the "People's Republic of China" under C. The Republic of the Congo entered as just "Congo" while the Democratic Republic of Congo entered with its full name. Iran, Micronesia, Moldova, Laos, Brunei and the United States all entered under their formal names, respectively "Islamic Republic of Iran", "Federated States of Micronesia", "Republic of Moldova", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Brunei Darussalam" and "United States of America".
A record of 199 nations entered the stadium with the exception of Afghanistan, a nation banned by the IOC in 1999 because of the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression on women and its sports. The parade of nations also featured a unified entrance by the athletes of the North and South Korea, holding a specially designed unification flag bearing the name "Korea": a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean peninsula; however, the two teams competed separately. Four athletes from East Timor marched directly in the opening ceremonies as individual Olympic athletes before the host nation. Without the existence of the National Olympic Committee, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.
Notable flag bearers in the opening ceremony featured the following athletes: windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (Greece), Olympic beach volleyball champion Sandra Pires (Brazil), tennis player Nicolás Massú (Chile), heavyweight boxing champion Félix Savón (Cuba), long-distance runner Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia), sprint kayaker and five-time gold medalist Birgit Fischer (Germany), coxless pairs rower and double gold medalist Matthew Pinsent (Great Britain), show jumper Princess Haya (Jordan), discus thrower and 1992 Olympic champion Romas Ubartas (Lithuania), dressage rider Anky van Grunsven (Netherlands), middle-distance runner Vebjørn Rodal (Norway), two-time Greco-Roman wrestling champion Andrzej Wroński (Poland), five-time rowing champion Elisabeta Lipă (Romania), four-time Olympic handballer Andrey Lavrov (Russia), six-time Olympic water polo player Manuel Estiarte (Spain), and basketball players Carlton Myers (Italy) and Andrew Gaze (Australia).
List The following is a list of each country's announced flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC.
Order Nation Flag bearer Sport 1 Nikolaos Kaklamanakis Sailing 2 Ilirjan Suli Weightlifting 3 Djabir Saïd-Guerni Athletics 4 Lisa Misipeka Athletics 5 Antoni Bernadó Athletics 6 Nádia Cruz Swimming 7 Heather Samuel Athletics 8 Carlos Espínola Sailing 9 Haykaz Galstyan Wrestling 10 Richard Rodriguez Athletics 11 Wolfram Waibel Jr. Shooting 12 Namig Abdullayev Wrestling 13 Pauline Davis-Thompson Athletics 14 Dawood Youssef Swimming 15 Sabrina Sultana Shooting 16 Andrea Blackett Athletics 17 Siarhei Lishtvan Wrestling 18 Ulla Werbrouck Judo 19 Emma Wade Athletics 20 Laure Kuetey Athletics 21 Mary Jane Tumbridge Equestrian 22 Jubzhang Jubzhang Archery 23 Marco Condori Athletics 24 Elvir Krehmić Athletics 25 Gilbert Khunwane Boxing 26 Sandra Pires Beach volleyball 27 Keita Cline Athletics 28 Haseri Asli Athletics 29 Ivo Yanakiev Rowing 30 Sarah Tondé Athletics 31 Diane Nukuri Athletics 32 To Rithya Athletics 33 Cécile Ngambi Athletics (non-participant) 34 Caroline Brunet Canoeing 35 Isménia do Frederico Athletics 36 Kareem Streete-Thompson Athletics 37 Mickaël Conjungo Athletics 38 Gana Abba Kimet Athletics 39 Nicolás Massú Tennis 40 Liu Yudong Basketball 41 María Isabel Urrutia Weightlifting 42 Shareef Mohammed Official 43 Marien Michel Ngouabi Swimming 44 Turia Vogel Sailing 45 Karina Fernández Triathlon 46 Ibrahim Meité Athletics 47 Zoran Primorac Table tennis 48 Félix Savón Boxing 49 Antonakis Andreou Shooting 50 Martin Doktor Canoeing 51 Mwenze Kalombo Athletics 52 Jesper Bank Sailing 53 Djama Robleh Athletics (non-participant) 54 Marcia Daniel Athletics 55 Wanda Rijo Weightlifting 56 Martha Tenorio Athletics 57 Yahia Rashwan Taekwondo 58 Eva Dimas Weightlifting 59 Eric Moussambani Swimming 60 Nebiat Habtemariam Athletics 61 Tõnu Tõniste Sailing 62 Derartu Tulu Athletics 63 Tony Philp Sailing 64 Olli-Pekka Karjalainen Athletics 65 Lazar Popovski Canoeing 66 David Douillet Judo 67 Mélanie Engoang Judo 68 Adama Njie Athletics 69 Giorgi Asanidze Weightlifting 70 Birgit Fischer Canoeing 71 Kennedy Osei Athletics 72 Matthew Pinsent Rowing 73 Hazel-Ann Regis Athletics 74 Melissa Lynn Fejeran Weightlifting 75 Attila Solti Shooting 76 Joseph Loua Athletics 77 Talata Embalo Wrestling 78 Aliann Pompey Athletics 79 Nadine Faustin-Parker Athletics 80 Alejandro Castellanos Swimming 81 Fenella Ng Rowing 82 Rita Kőbán Canoeing 83 Guðrún Arnardóttir Athletics 84 Leander Paes Tennis 85 Rexy Mainaky Badminton 86 Amir Reza Khadem Wrestling 87 Bashar Mohammad Ali Chef de mission 88 Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics 89 Rogel Nachum Athletics 90 Carlton Myers Basketball 91 Deon Hemmings Athletics 92 Kosei Inoue Judo 93 Princess Haya Equestrian 94 Yermakhan Ibraimov Boxing 95 Kennedy Ochieng Athletics 96 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (PRK) Pak Jung-chul Official 96 Korea (KOR) Chung Eun-soon Basketball 97 Fawzi Al-Shammari Athletics 98 Raatbek Sanatbayev Wrestling 99 Sisomphone Vongpharkdy Athletics 100 Voldemārs Lūsis Athletics 101 Jean-Claude Rabbath Athletics 102 Mokete Mokhosi Taekwondo 103 Kouty Mawenh Athletics 104 Nizar Naeeli Taekwondo 105 Oliver Geissmann Shooting 106 Romas Ubartas Athletics 107 Lara Heinz Swimming 108 Joseph-Berlioz Randriamihaja Athletics 109 Francis Munthali Athletics 110 Mirnawan Nawawi Field hockey 111 Naseer Ismail Athletics 112 Brahima Guindo Judo 113 Laurie Pace Judo 114 Sidi Mohamed Ould Bidjel Athletics 115 Michael Macaque Boxing 116 Fernando Platas Diving 117 Manuel Minginfel Weightlifting 118 Vadim Vacarciuc Weightlifting 119 Thierry Vatrican Judo 120 Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene Judo 121 Adil Belgaid Judo 122 Jorge Duvane Athletics 123 Maung Maung Nge Athletics 124 Paulus Ali Nuumbembe Boxing 125 Marcus Stephen Weightlifting 126 Chitra Bahadur Gurung Swimming 127 Anky van Grunsven Equestrian 128 Cor van Aanholt Sailing 129 Blyth Tait Equestrian 130 Walter Martínez Shooting 131 Mamane Sani Ali Athletics 132 Sunday Bada Athletics 133 Vebjørn Rodal Athletics 134 Mohamed Amer Al-Malky Athletics 135 Ahmed Alam Field hockey 136 Valerie Pedro Weightlifting 137 Ramy Deeb Athletics 138 Eileen Coparropa Swimming 139 Xenia Peni Swimming 140 Nery Kennedy Athletics 141 Rosa García Volleyball 142 Donald Geisler Taekwondo 143 Andrzej Wroński Wrestling 144 Miguel Maia Beach volleyball 145 Enrique Figueroa Sailing 146 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah Athletics 147 Elisabeta Lipă Rowing 148 Andrey Lavrov Handball 149 Pierre Karemera Official 150 Kim Collins Athletics 151 Dominic Johnson Athletics 152 Pamenos Ballantyne Athletics 153 Pauga Lalau Boxing 154 Emanuela Felici Shooting 155 Naide Gomes Athletics 156 Khaled Al-Dosari Taekwondo 157 Mame Tacko Diouf Athletics 158 Benjamin Lo-Pinto Swimming 159 Ekundayo Williams Athletics 160 Joscelin Yeo Swimming 161 Slavomír Kňazovický Canoeing 162 Iztok Čop Rowing 163 Primo Higa Athletics 164 Ibrahim Mohamed Aden Athletics 165 Hezekiél Sepeng Athletics 166 Manuel Estiarte Water polo 167 Damayanthi Dharsha Athletics 168 Mahmoud Kieno Chef de mission 169 Letitia Vriesde Athletics 170 Musa Simelane Boxing 171 Anna Olsson Canoeing 172 Thomas Frischknecht Cycling 173 Moutassem Ghotouq Chef de mission 174 Chiang Peng-lung Table tennis 175 Khurshed Hasanov Boxing 176 Restituta Joseph Athletics 177 Somluck Kamsing Boxing 178 Kouami Sacha Denanyoh Judo 179 Ana Siulolo Liku Athletics 180 Ato Boldon Athletics 181 Omrane Ayari Wrestling 182 Hamza Yerlikaya Wrestling 183 Chary Mamedov Athletics 184 Muhamed Kizito Boxing 185 Yevhen Braslavets Sailing 186 Saeed Al-Maktoum Shooting 187 Cliff Meidl Canoeing 188 Mónica Falcioni Athletics 189 Mahammatkodir Abdullaev Boxing 190 Mary-Estelle Kapalu Athletics 191 Adriana Carmona Taekwondo 192 Trương Ngọc Để Chef de mission 193 Ameerah Bello Athletics 194 Basheer Al-Khewani Athletics 195 Vladimir Grbić Volleyball 196 Samuel Matete Athletics 197 Philip Mukomana Athletics 198 Victor Ramos Boxing 199 Andrew Gaze Basketball
References
See also 2004 Summer Olympics national flag bearers 2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers 2008 Summer Paralympics national flag bearers 2010 Winter Olympics national flag bearers