The Greek Olympic team (Team Hellas), as is customary, led the athlete parade along the Seine River during the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, July 26.
The flag bearers for Team Hellas at the opening ceremony were basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo and race walker Antigoni Drisbioti. Antetokounmpo made history for Greece, becoming the first Black athlete to bear the Greek flag for the Games.
In a post on Facebook, Antetokounmpo said holding the Greek flag was “the greatest honour.”
This is the first time the parade has been held on water. Each team was given its own boat that follows a 6-kilometre route along the Seine.
Team Hellas was followed by the refugee team which consists of 37 athletes this year. The remaining delegations followed in alphabetical order and included an Australian team with 460 athletes.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry wrote on Facebook: “We are proud of #TeamHellas and wish all our athletes: Βonne Chance (Good luck)!”
The ceremony will last three and a half hours, during which about 7,000 athletes will parade aboard a total of 94 boats. Performances and events on floating platforms and monuments will accompany the historic opening ceremony.
