The Opening Ceremony

by Karen

Teams parade in alphabetical order, according to the language of the host country, except for Greece, which always comes first. They march round the stadium with their flags and then line up in the middle. The sovereign or head of state declares the Games OPEN! The Olympic Flag is raised to the sound of the Olympic Hymn. Then an athlete reads the Athletes' Oath

"In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams."

The anthem of the host country is played and the teams file out of  the stadium.

Sonia O'Sullivan carried the flag for Ireland at the Sydney Games in 2000

THE FLAG  

by Rachel

At the  Olympics the Olympic flag flies throughout the games and is lowered at the closing ceremony.

The original flag was designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and was made in Paris at the Bon Marche stores  next door to Baron  Pierre de Coubertin's house.  It was presented to the I.O.C Congress  by Coubertin  in 1914.   The Olympic  flag was  first  used  at Antwerp in 1920.  A new flag was made in Seoul in 1988 out of Korean silk and that flag has been used since.  At the closing ceremony, the flag is handed over to the Mayor of the next city to hold the Olympic Games.

In Sydney the flag was handed over to the Mayor of Athens for the 2004 games.

The Olympic Hymn

The Olympic Hymn was composed in 1896 by Spyros Samaras with words by Costas Palamis. It was first heard in Athens in 1896 and has been the official hymn since 1957.  

The Olympic Flame  

by Joanne and Karen

The Olympic flame carries on the tradition of the flame that burned on the altar of the Goddess Hera during the ancient olympic games. lt was first used in the modern games in 1928 and became a torch in 1936 when the sacred flame was carried all the way from Olympia in Greece to Berlin.   

Did you know?

1,688 torches were used in the relay from Olympic to London  in 1948, The torchbearers were allowed to keep them as souvenirs!

In 1976 the energy of the flame was transmitted by satellite from Greece to Canada.  

For the Mexico games in 1968, the torch followed the route Christopher Columbus took when he discovered the New World.

Click the flame below to find out about the flame in 2000

THE OLYMPIC MEDALS by Robyn

This gold medal is what everyone is after!  Strangely though, the gold medal is made of silver with a heavy gilding of 6 grams of pure gold.  Most athletes dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. But some superstars have won loads of medals.    

Olympic medals since 1928 have featured the same design on the front: a Greek goddess, the Olympic Rings, the coliseum of ancient Athens, a Greek vase known as an amphora, a horse-drawn chariot, the year, the number of the Olympiad, and host city.

Olympic medals are 7cms in diameter.

The Olympic Symbol

by Ciara

The Olympic Symbol was designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1913. The five rings represent the five continents and they always interlock in exactly the same way with three rings above and two below. The five colours were chosen because at least one of them was in the flag of every nation that competed in the Olympic Games at the time. The blue, black and red rings are above the yellow and green ones, with the blue ring always nearest the flag pole.

The Closing Ceremony by Stacey  

1.  Flag-bearers march into the stadium and line up in the same order as the opening Ceremony. All the competitors follow them, all mingling together, "united by the friendly bond of the Olympic sport" and not country by country.  (Until the Melbourne games in 1956 individual teams marched separately and it was a 17 year old boy, John Ring, who suggested that all the teams should run in together at the end of the games in 1956.  The IOC thought that this was a good idea.)  

2. The Greek national anthem is played and the Greek flag is hoisted.  

3. The host country's flag is hoisted while their national anthem is played.

4.  The flag of the country where the next Olympic games will take place is hoisted to its anthem.  

5. The President of the IOC makes the closing speech,  " I thank the competitors , officials , the media and all those who have contributed to the success of these games."

6. The Mayor of the of the city organising the next Olympic games receives the ceremonial Olympic flag from the President of the IOC, for safe keeping until the next closing ceremony.  

7. A fanfare of trumpets and the Olympic flame is extinguished to the sound of the  Olympic anthem.  

8. The Olympic  flag is lowered  and carried horizontally  from the stadium by eight men in uniform.    

Interesting Fact

The Greek National Anthem will be played twice this year because the games started in Greece and the next Olympic games will be held in Greece.