London 2012 In Opening Parade Vision

London 2012 plans to complete the Parade of Nations during the Olympics Opening Ceremony in only an hour-and-a-half – by restricting the number of officials able to take part in the event.

The Parade, on 27th July, will see participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country, led by a sign with the name of their country and by their nation’s flag.

The march is led by Greece, as has been the tradition for nearly 100 years, and in Beijing 2008 more than 200 countries took more than two hours to complete the Parade.This year, London 2012 hopes that by restricting the event to accredited competitors and a limited number of key officials that this time it will be much quicker, which could help encourage some of the top athletes to take part.

London 2012 are also optimistic that the proximity of the Athletes’ Village to the Olympic Stadium will also mean as many competitors as possible are able to take part. 

From the Village to the Stadium, the athletes will be cheered on during the 1500 metres walk by more than 2,500 schoolchildren who will line the route.

Britain’s athletics and swimming teams have already announced that they will miss the Ceremony because they will be preparing for their events, but the British Olympic Association (BOA) has now agreed a policy with the other sports so that everyone is given the chance to take part in the event.

As the host nation, Britain will be the last team to march in the Ceremony..