How the opening ceremony of the Parade of Nations order of countries for the 2026 Winter Olympics works

Viewers around the world will tune in on Friday as the Winter Olympics 2026 Begin and watch as nearly 3,000 athletes from countries around the world gather for the opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations.

Athletes, who typically wear their country’s official uniforms, will march grouped by country. Each delegation will be led by flag bearers. For united states teamskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca were chosen to serve as standard bearers.

The Olympic cauldron will also be lit with the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony. This year there will be two cauldrons, one in Milan and one in Cortina, the two host cities in northern Italy.

How is the order of countries in the Parade of Nations opening ceremony decided?

The order of the countries in the Parade of Nations changes from year to year, with only one constant: Greece always enters first as it is the birthplace of the Games.

After Greece, countries enter in alphabetical order according to the language of the Games host country. In Italian, Japan is written “Giappone” and Hungary is “Ungheria”, which means that Japan will enter before Hungary, although Hungary comes before Japan in the English alphabet.

There are some exceptions to alphabetical order. The last country to enter is the host country.

The penultimate country to participate is the one that will host the next Games. In this case, because it is the Winter Games, France will enter just before Italy because the 2030 Winter Games will be in the French Alps.

While the lineup of nations often includes a Refugee Olympic Team, there will be no Refugee Olympic Team participating in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

AIN, Individual Neutral Athletes – the term for athletes from Russia and Belarus participating in the Olympic Games – will not participate in the opening ceremony parade, according to the International Olympic Committee.

How many countries are in the Parade of Nations?

Officially, there are no countries in the Parade of Nations. Rather, athletes of the National Olympic Committees (the governing bodies that represent their nations in the Olympic Movement) are considered participants.

There are 206 National Olympic Committees, but fewer participate in the Winter Olympics than in the Summer Games: usually around 90. This year, 92 are expected to participate in the Milan Cortina Games.

History of the opening ceremony and the Parade of Nations

The modern Olympic Games began in 1896, with the Parade of Nations introduced at the 1908 London Games, according to Mark McDowell, a tour guide at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum. Since then, the Parade of Nations has become an integral part of the opening ceremony.

“They worked on the balance between national pride and coming together as people of a global world and competing together peacefully,” McDowell said.

The structure of the opening ceremony has remained largely the same over the years, but there have been some notable changes. In the 1920s, athletes marched with their team, carrying skis and skates, according to the Olympic Games. That is no longer the case.

It was also in 1928 that the tradition of the Greek delegation of athletes marching first was introduced.

A big change has been the scale of the ceremony, McDowell said. Today’s Games feature athletes representing many more countries than in previous Olympic Games.

The Parade of Nations for the Summer and Winter Olympics is structurally similar, but the Summer Games typically have more athletes because there are more sports during that competition. Athletes are also warmer during the Winter Games opening ceremony.

All athletes at the Games are invited to participate, but not all do, McDowell said. It can be physically demanding to stand for an hours-long ceremony the day before competing in a sport.

But for many, being part of the Parade of Nations is a source of pride.

“Many of America’s athletes say the opening ceremony, the Parade of Nations, is the biggest lasting impact of the games,” McDowell said. “That sense of pride, camaraderie and going out to defend your country is something that’s hard to replicate.”