# 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations

At the 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations of the 2012 London Olympics, athletes and officials from each participating country paraded into the Olympic Stadium preceded by their national flag to the sound of iconic British modern music. Each flag bearer was chosen by each nation's National Olympic Committee or by the delegation of athletes.

## Parade order

By tradition and IOC guidelines, Greece entered first, as the nation of origin of the ancient and the host of the 1896 Summer Olympics modern Olympic Games. The host nation Great Britain (as the United Kingdom is recognized at the Games) brought up the end of the procession. The other nations followed Greece in alphabetical order by name in the language of the host country (English) except for a few instances. As each national delegation entered accompanied by music, the national name was announced in French and English (the official languages of the Olympics).
National name exceptions included shortened, more formal or alternative names, sometimes due to political or naming disputes. The then called Republic of Macedonia entered using part of its UN recognized name "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 the Congo entered with its full name. Similarly South Korea entered as "Republic of Korea" under K while North Korea entered as "Democratic People's Republic of Korea". The British Virgin Islands entered under B while the United States Virgin Islands entered as simply the "Virgin Islands", under V. 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". For the first time in many years, Libyan athletes marched as "Libya", and not "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" as Libya was known during the reign of Muammar Gaddafi.

## Parade

Each delegation was led by a flagbearer (listed below), accompanied by a child volunteer carrying a copper petal (camera-left) and a young lady carrying a sign with the country's English name (camera-right). The copper petal was engraved with the name of the nation and would later be used to build the cauldron for the Olympic flame. The volunteer carrying the sign wore a dress constructed with fabric imprinted with images of Olympic volunteers, including those who had not been chosen. Each nation's flag was planted as it arrived at the model of Glastonbury Tor.
Netherlands Antilles was ineligible to participate independently in the parade, as its National Olympic Committee was unrecognized by the IOC due to the 2010 dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Team Dutch Antilleans paraded by default under the Olympic flag, together with a South Sudanese runner whose newly independent country did not yet have an Olympic committee.
Notable were the debut female Olympic athletes from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei.
The Team India entered the stadium jointly led by a woman dressed in a red top and blue trousers, who was not part of its team. In India this incident received media attention, but London officials downplayed concerns saying that she was Madhura Nagendra, a volunteer who had been security screened. Some media outlets later identified her as Madhura Honey, a graduate of Communications and Media Studies from Christ College in Bangalore. The Indian team's acting chef-de-mission Muralidharan Raja filed a protest with organisers.

## Countries and flagbearers

Below is a list of parading countries and their announced flag bearer, in the same order as the parade. This is sortable by country name, flag bearer's name, or flag bearer's sport. Names are given in the form officially designated by the IOC.
| Order | Country | Flag bearer | Sport |
| 1 | Greece (GRE) | Alexandros Nikolaidis | Taekwondo |
| 2 | Afghanistan (AFG) | Nesar Ahmad Bahave | Taekwondo |
| 3 | Albania (ALB) | Romela Begaj | Weightlifting |
| 4 | Algeria (ALG) | Abdelhafid Benchabla | Boxing |
| 5 | American Samoa (ASA) | Ching Maou Wei | Swimming |
| 6 | Andorra (AND) | Joan Tomàs Roca | Shooting |
| 7 | Angola (ANG) | Antonia Moreira | Judo |
| 8 | Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) | Daniel Bailey | Athletics |
| 9 | Argentina (ARG) | Luciana Aymar | Field hockey |
| 10 | Armenia (ARM) | Arman Yeremyan | Taekwondo |
| 11 | Aruba (ARU) | Jemal Le Grand | Swimming |
| 12 | Australia (AUS) | Lauren Jackson | Basketball |
| 13 | Austria (AUT) | Markus Rogan | Swimming |
| 14 | Azerbaijan (AZE) | Elnur Mammadli | Judo |
| 15 | Bahamas (BAH) | Chris Brown | Athletics |
| 16 | Bahrain (BRN) | Azza Al Qasmi | Shooting |
| 17 | Bangladesh (BAN) | Mahfizur Rahman Sagor | Swimming |
| 18 | Barbados (BAR) | Ryan Brathwaite | Athletics |
| 19 | Belarus (BLR) | Max Mirnyi | Tennis |
| 20 | Belgium (BEL) | Tia Hellebaut | Athletics |
| 21 | Belize (BIZ) | Kenneth Medwood | Athletics |
| 22 | Benin (BEN) | Jacob Gnahoui | Judo |
| 23 | Bermuda (BER) | Zander Kirkland | Sailing |
| 24 | Bhutan (BHU) | Sherab Zam | Archery |
| 25 | Bolivia (BOL) | Karen Torrez | Swimming |
| 26 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) | Amel Mekić | Judo |
| 27 | Botswana (BOT) | Amantle Montsho | Athletics |
| 28 | Brazil (BRA) | Rodrigo Pessoa | Equestrian |
| 29 | British Virgin Islands (IVB) | Tahesia Harrigan | Athletics |
| 30 | Brunei Darussalam (BRU) | Maziah Mahusin | Athletics |
| 31 | Bulgaria (BUL) | Yordan Yovchev | Gymnastics |
| 32 | Burkina Faso (BUR) | Severine Nebie | Judo |
| 33 | Burundi (BDI) | Diane Nukuri | Athletics |
| 34 | Cambodia (CAM) | Sorn Davin | Taekwondo |
| 35 | Cameroon (CMR) | Annabelle Ali | Wrestling |
| 36 | Canada (CAN) | Simon Whitfield | Triathlon |
| 37 | Cape Verde (CPV) | Adysângela Moniz | Judo |
| 38 | Cayman Islands (CAY) | Kemar Hyman | Athletics |
| 39 | Central African Republic (CAF) | David Boui | Taekwondo |
| 40 | Chad (CHA) | Carine Ngarlemdana | Judo |
| 41 | Chile (CHI) | Denisse van Lamoen | Archery |
| 42 | People's Republic of China (CHN) | Yi Jianlian | Basketball |
| 43 | Colombia (COL) | Mariana Pajón | Cycling |
| 44 | Comoros (COM) | Ahamada Feta | Athletics |
| 45 | Congo (CGO) | Lorène Bazolo | Athletics |
| 46 | Cook Islands (COK) | Helema Williams | Sailing |
| 47 | Costa Rica (CRC) | Gabriela Traña | Athletics |
| 48 | Côte d'Ivoire (CIV) | Ben Youssef Meite | Athletics |
| 49 | Croatia (CRO) | Venio Losert | Handball |
| 50 | Cuba (CUB) | Mijaín López | Wrestling |
| 51 | Cyprus (CYP) | Marcos Baghdatis | Tennis |
| 52 | Czech Republic (CZE) | Petr Koukal | Badminton |
| 53 | Democratic People's Republic of Korea (PRK) | Pak Song-Chol | Athletics |
| 54 | Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) | Ilunga Mande Zatara | Athletics |
| 55 | Denmark (DEN) | Kim Wraae Knudsen | Canoeing |
| 56 | Djibouti (DJI) | Zourah Ali | Athletics |
| 57 | Dominica (DMA) | Erison Hurtault | Athletics |
| 58 | Dominican Republic (DOM) | Gabriel Mercedes | Taekwondo |
| 59 | Ecuador (ECU) | César de Cesare | Canoeing |
| 60 | Egypt (EGY) | Hesham Mesbah | Judo |
| 61 | El Salvador (ESA) | Evelyn García | Cycling |
| 62 | Equatorial Guinea (GEQ) | Bibiana Olama | Athletics |
| 63 | Eritrea (ERI) | Weynay Ghebresilasie | Athletics |
| 64 | Estonia (EST) | Aleksander Tammert | Athletics |
| 65 | Ethiopia (ETH) | Yanet Seyoum | Swimming |
| 66 | Fiji (FIJ) | Josateki Naulu | Judo |
| 67 | Finland (FIN) | Hanna-Maria Seppälä | Swimming |
| 68 | Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) | Marko Blaževski | Swimming |
| 69 | France (FRA) | Laura Flessel-Colovic | Fencing |
| 70 | Gabon (GAB) | Ruddy Zang Milama | Athletics |
| 71 | Gambia (GAM) | Suwaibou Sanneh | Athletics |
| 72 | Georgia (GEO) | Nino Salukvadze | Shooting |
| 73 | Germany (GER) | Natascha Keller | Field hockey |
| 74 | Ghana (GHA) | Maxwell Amponsah | Boxing |
| 75 | Grenada (GRN) | Kirani James | Athletics |
| 76 | Guam (GUM) | Maria Dunn | Wrestling |
| 77 | Guatemala (GUA) | Juan Ignacio Maegli | Sailing |
| 78 | Guinea (GUI) | Facinet Keita | Judo |
| 79 | Guinea-Bissau (GBS) | Augusto Midana | Wrestling |
| 80 | Guyana (GUY) | Winston George | Athletics |
| 81 | Haiti (HAI) | Linouse Desravine | Judo |
| 82 | Honduras (HON) | Ronald Bennett | Athletics |
| 83 | Hong Kong, China (HKG) | Lee Wai Sze | Cycling |
| 84 | Hungary (HUN) | Péter Biros | Water polo |
| 85 | Iceland (ISL) | Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir | Athletics |
| 86 | Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) | Brooklyn Kerlin | LOCOG/Games Maker |
| 87 | India (IND) | Sushil Kumar | Wrestling |
| 88 | Indonesia (INA) | I Gede Siman Sudartawa | Swimming |
| 89 | Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) | Ali Mazaheri | Boxing |
| 90 | Iraq (IRQ) | Dana Hussain | Athletics |
| 91 | Ireland (IRL) | Katie Taylor | Boxing |
| 92 | Israel (ISR) | Shahar Tzuberi | Sailing |
| 93 | Italy (ITA) | Valentina Vezzali | Fencing |
| 94 | Jamaica (JAM) | Usain Bolt | Athletics |
| 95 | Japan (JPN) | Saori Yoshida | Wrestling |
| 96 | Jordan (JOR) | Nadin Dawani | Taekwondo |
| 97 | Kazakhstan (KAZ) | Nurmakhan Tinaliyev | Wrestling |
| 98 | Kenya (KEN) | Jason Dunford | Swimming |
| 99 | Kiribati (KIR) | David Katoatau | Weightlifting |
| 100 | Republic of Korea (KOR) | Yoon Kyung-Shin | Handball |
| 101 | Kuwait (KUW) | Fehaid Al-Deehani | Shooting |
| 102 | Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) | Chingiz Mamedov | Judo |
| 103 | Lao People's Democratic Republic (LAO) | Kilakone Siphonexay | Athletics |
| 104 | Latvia (LAT) | Mārtiņš Pļaviņš | Beach volleyball |
| 105 | Lebanon (LIB) | Andrea Paoli | Taekwondo |
| 106 | Lesotho (LES) | Mamorallo Tjoka | Athletics |
| 107 | Liberia (LBR) | Phobay Kutu-Akoi | Athletics |
| 108 | Libya (LBA) | Sofyan El Gadi | Swimming |
| 109 | Liechtenstein (LIE) | Stephanie Vogt | Tennis |
| 110 | Lithuania (LTU) | Virgilijus Alekna | Athletics |
| 111 | Luxembourg (LUX) | Marie Muller | Judo |
| 112 | Madagascar (MAD) | Fetra Ratsimiziva | Judo |
| 113 | Malawi (MAW) | Mike Tebulo | Athletics |
| 114 | Malaysia (MAS) | Pandelela Rinong | Diving |
| 115 | Maldives (MDV) | Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed | Badminton |
| 116 | Mali (MLI) | Rahamatou Drame | Athletics |
| 117 | Malta (MLT) | William Chetcuti | Shooting |
| 118 | Marshall Islands (MHL) | Haley Nemra | Athletics |
| 119 | Mauritania (MTN) | Jidou El Moctar | Athletics |
| 120 | Mauritius (MRI) | Natacha Rigobert | Beach volleyball |
| 121 | Mexico (MEX) | María Espinoza | Taekwondo |
| 122 | Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) | Manuel Minginfel | Weightlifting |
| 123 | Republic of Moldova (MDA) | Dan Olaru | Archery |
| 124 | Monaco (MON) | Angelique Trinquier | Swimming |
| 125 | Mongolia (MGL) | Ser-Od Bat-Ochir | Athletics |
| 126 | Montenegro (MNE) | Srđan Mrvaljević | Judo |
| 127 | Morocco (MAR) | Wiam Dislam | Taekwondo |
| 128 | Mozambique (MOZ) | Kurt Couto | Athletics |
| 129 | Myanmar (MYA) | Zaw Win Thet | Athletics |
| 130 | Namibia (NAM) | Gaby Ahrens | Shooting |
| 131 | Nauru (NRU) | Itte Detenamo | Weightlifting |
| 132 | Nepal (NEP) | Prasiddha Jung Shah | Swimming |
| 133 | Netherlands (NED) | Dorian van Rijsselberghe | Sailing |
| 134 | New Zealand (NZL) | Nick Willis | Athletics |
| 135 | Nicaragua (NCA) | Osmar Bravo | Boxing |
| 136 | Niger (NIG) | Moustapha Hima | Boxing |
| 137 | Nigeria (NGR) | Sinivie Boltic | Wrestling |
| 138 | Norway (NOR) | Mira Verås Larsen | Canoeing |
| 139 | Oman (OMA) | Ahmed Al-Hatmi | Shooting |
| 140 | Pakistan (PAK) | Sohail Abbas | Field hockey |
| 141 | Palau (PLW) | Rodman Teltull | Athletics |
| 142 | Palestine (PLE) | Maher Abu Remeleh | Judo |
| 143 | Panama (PAN) | Irving Saladino | Athletics |
| 144 | Papua New Guinea (PNG) | Toea Wisil | Athletics |
| 145 | Paraguay (PAR) | Ben Hockin | Swimming |
| 146 | Peru (PER) | Gladys Tejeda | Athletics |
| 147 | Philippines (PHI) | Hidilyn Diaz | Weightlifting |
| 148 | Poland (POL) | Agnieszka Radwańska | Tennis |
| 149 | Portugal (POR) | Telma Monteiro | Judo |
| 150 | Puerto Rico (PUR) | Javier Culson | Athletics |
| 151 | Qatar (QAT) | Bahiya Al-Hamad | Shooting |
| 152 | Romania (ROU) | Horia Tecău | Tennis |
| 153 | Russian Federation (RUS) | Maria Sharapova | Tennis |
| 154 | Rwanda (RWA) | Adrien Niyonshuti | Cycling |
| 155 | Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) | Kim Collins | Athletics |
| 156 | Saint Lucia (LCA) | Levern Spencer | Athletics |
| 157 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN) | Kineke Alexander | Athletics |
| 158 | Samoa (SAM) | Ele Opeloge | Weightlifting |
| 159 | San Marino (SMR) | Alessandra Perilli | Shooting |
| 160 | São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) | Lecabela Quaresma | Athletics |
| 161 | Saudi Arabia (KSA) | Sultan Mubarak Al-Dawoodi | Athletics |
| 162 | Senegal (SEN) | Hortense Diédhiou | Judo |
| 163 | Serbia (SRB) | Novak Djokovic | Tennis |
| 164 | Seychelles (SEY) | Dominic Dugasse | Judo |
| 165 | Sierra Leone (SLE) | Ola Sesay | Athletics |
| 166 | Singapore (SIN) | Feng Tianwei | Table tennis |
| 167 | Slovakia (SVK) | Jozef Gönci | Shooting |
| 168 | Slovenia (SLO) | Peter Kauzer | Canoeing |
| 169 | Solomon Islands (SOL) | Jenly Tegu Wini | Weightlifting |
| 170 | Somalia (SOM) | Zamzam Mohamed Farah | Athletics |
| 171 | South Africa (RSA) | Caster Semenya | Athletics |
| 172 | Spain (ESP) | Pau Gasol | Basketball |
| 173 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | Niluka Karunaratne | Badminton |
| 174 | Sudan (SUD) | Ismail Ahmed Ismail | Athletics |
| 175 | Suriname (SUR) | Chinyere Pigot | Swimming |
| 176 | Swaziland (SWZ) | Luke Hall | Swimming |
| 177 | Sweden (SWE) | Rolf-Göran Bengtsson | Equestrian |
| 178 | Switzerland (SUI) | Stanislas Wawrinka | Tennis |
| 179 | Syrian Arab Republic (SYR) | Majd Eddin Ghazal | Athletics |
| 180 | Chinese Taipei (TPE) | Chen Shih-chieh | Weightlifting |
| 181 | Tajikistan (TJK) | Mavzuna Chorieva | Boxing |
| 182 | United Republic of Tanzania (TAN) | Zakia Mrisho Mohamed | Athletics |
| 183 | Thailand (THA) | Nuttapong Ketin | Swimming |
| 184 | Timor-Leste (TLS) | Augusto Ramos Soares | Athletics |
| 185 | Togo (TOG) | Benjamin Boukpeti | Canoeing |
| 186 | Tonga (TGA) | Amini Fonua | Swimming |
| 187 | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | Marc Burns | Athletics |
| 188 | Tunisia (TUN) | Heykel Megannem | Handball |
| 189 | Turkey (TUR) | Neslihan Demir Darnel | Volleyball |
| 190 | Turkmenistan (TKM) | Serdar Hudayberdiyev | Boxing |
| 191 | Tuvalu (TUV) | Asenate Manoa | Athletics |
| 192 | Uganda (UGA) | Ganzi Mugula | Swimming |
| 193 | Ukraine (UKR) | Roman Gontiuk | Judo |
| 194 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Saeed Al Maktoum | Shooting |
| 195 | United States of America (USA) | Mariel Zagunis | Fencing |
| 196 | Uruguay (URU) | Rodolfo Collazo | Rowing |
| 197 | Uzbekistan (UZB) | Elshod Rasulov | Boxing |
| 198 | Vanuatu (VAN) | Anolyn Lulu | Table tennis |
| 199 | Venezuela (VEN) | Fabiola Ramos | Table tennis |
| 200 | Vietnam (VIE) | Nguyễn Tiến Nhật | Fencing |
| 201 | Virgin Islands (ISV) | Tabarie Henry | Athletics |
| 202 | Yemen (YEM) | Tameem Al-Kubati | Taekwondo |
| 203 | Zambia (ZAM) | Prince Mumba | Athletics |
| 204 | Zimbabwe (ZIM) | Kirsty Coventry | Swimming |
| 205 | Great Britain (GBR) | Chris Hoy | Cycling |

### Notes

* ↑ Athletes from the now-defunct Netherlands Antilles competed under the Olympic flag, as did an athlete from South Sudan, which had not at the time formed an Olympic committee.
* ↑ As discussed above, the team was accompanied by a 'mystery' woman dressed in red.
* ↑ Rafael Nadal was originally chosen, but had to withdraw reportedly due to injury.
* ↑ Roger Federer was originally chosen, but passed the opportunity to his partner in the doubles.