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![[Flag for Salt Lake 2002.]](../images/o/oly@w19.gif)
Click on the image to enlarge.
by Zach Harden, 21 March 2001
Now that the celebration of the 19th Olympic Winter Games is over, it's asif the Olympic Movement started wearing a dull winter fur, hardly showing any colour at all. But during Salt Lake 2002 flags were flying everywhere.
![[The Olympic flag]](../images/o/oly@ioc.gif)
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, July 2005.
Flag adopted: 1914.
The Olympic flag was visible everywhere. During the Opening Ceremony
the flag was carried into the stadium, where it remained hoisted for the
duration of the games. It was also flown at each Olympic event, in the
Olympic Village, and all over Salt Lake. And finally, during the
Closing Ceremony the Oslo Flag was passed on to the Mayor of
Turin, where the
20th Olympic Winter Games will be held
in 2006.
{1, 3}
The Olympic games in Salt Lake city have their own emblem, and hence their own flag based on it. Also, millions of people saw during the Opening Ceremony how a series of ice skaters bore into the stadium flags representing each previous Winter Games. The flags were approximately 2:5, with the last unit of the length tapering into three tails. Each had the year of the represented games in white along the hoist, and the name of their host city in black along the length of the flag. Starting with a blueish white flag for Chamonix 1924, the flags of more recent games had progressively more solid and warmer field colours, with the final flag showing 2002 Salt Lake" on bright red and orange colours. The designs weren't special, but their shape was interesting: double swallowtail ( like Swedish ensign ) but the obverse/reverse were separate pieces of cloth, so the tails flapped rather like flames.
![[Greek flag.]](../images/g/gr.gif)
by Edward Mooney
At each Opening Ceremony the first flag to enter the stadium in the
Parade of Flags is the flag of Greece. And at
each Closing Ceremony, when the Olympic flag is passed on to the next
host of the Olympic Games a Greek flag is hoisted to symbolize their
past.
{1, 2}
During the Openings Ceremony all the teams paraded into the stadium behind their flags. During the games the flags of each participating country flew at each event. Finally, during the Closing Ceremony the flags ware paraded in once more. The flags and teams paraded in alphabetical order according to the language of the host country, except for Greece as the origin of the Olympic Games which always leads the parade, and the United States of America as the host country which closed the parade. The flags themselves all had the same size, and all had the ratio 2:3, the same shape as the Olympic flag. An exception to this was the flag of Nepal, which isn't rectangular. This flag had the ratio prescribed by Nepal law.
Those watching the ceremonies saw the flags and athletes enter the stadium in this order:
Those watching the closing ceremony saw that
Puerto Rico (PUR), with its only participant
being found ineligible before participating, no longer took
part in the parade. The number of flags remained the same, however,
as Costa Rica (CRC), with a late entry,
joined the parade at the closing ceremony.
{1, 4}
Many athletes carried stick flags of their nat'l flag and some carried S&S. The Ukranians carried stick flags with the yellow Trezub in the canton. The Croats, Mongols Swiss, and French carried flags of their National Olympic Committees. The Croatian was white with the Five Rings near the hoist, and six red squares near the fly, forming a partial chequerboard pattern. The Mongolian, W, with the circle and flame from the soyombo above the rings. I wrote down B-, but I see that the logo on Chrystian's image has the same elements in Y (did anyone else see them?). The Swiss carried square flags with the Helvetique civil ensign almost filling the upper half, and the rings, maybe another logo, in base. The French had an interesting design. The French flag was on the front, the US was on the back.
{3, 5}
Got a better look on the tape. The Swiss stick-flag had the words "SWISS OLYMPIC TEAM" on the lower half, no rings.The Mongolian had the rings and writing, something like Mongolian Olympic Committee. Abou the French, I was assuming they were carrying 2 separate flags, but their 2-sided flags had the *obverse* of the Stars and Streeps on the *reverse* of their flags, i.e. the canton was at the fly. WRT the Nepalese flag, the other flags in the parade were about 4x6 feet, the Nepalese was about 6x4, so I guess it's the right size, sort of. But I still think if you can make a Nepalese flag, you can make a square Swiss flag.
{5}
The CBC ran the entire parade of nations live and commercial free. When
they were interviewing Cdn athletes, they used a split screen so that no
countries were missed. I think all Canadians on the list should thank them
for their coverage.
NBC showed the coverage, and showed all countries, some longer than
others.
Another point, flags on the clothing. The Azerbajian team had the flag on their scarf, with correct colors and can be see correctly from both sides. Belarus had the colors of the flag on their scarfs, mostly seen was the national ornament. BTW, the Belarus flag has NO bars bordering the national ornament to the rest of the flag.
{3, 5}
![[Flag of the United States.]](../images/u/us50.gif)
by Conrad Suckow, 8 August 1999
Since the United States are the host country of Salt Lake 2002, the
national flag of the United States can been seen
at every Olympic event. At the Opening Ceremony first the American
flag that flew at the World Trade Center was carried by eight athetes into the statium,
taken to the base of a flagpole,
and a flag of the United States was raised, then during the Parade of
Flags, the flag of the United States was the last one to enter the
stadium, representing the host country.
{6}
As my 10-year-old daughter noticed before I did, the S&S on the
reverse was printed with the union in the upper left, i.e., *fly*
corner, with the stripes attached to the staff. I don't think anyone
minded, though--it was a very nice gesture and much appreciated.
{6}
![[Flag of the UNO.]](../images/u/uno.gif)
by Željko Heimer, 5 June 1996,
modified by Jan Oskar Engene, 11 April 1998,
and António Martins, 10 October 1999.
In ancient times an Olympic Truce was pledged for the duration of the
Olympic Games. Since 1993 the UN have restored this tradition, and
every two years, before the Winter or Summer Games are held, the
General Assembly of the United Nations calls on all states and all
international and national organizations to observe an Olympic Truce,
starting one week before the Olympic Games are opened, and lasting
until one week after the Olympic Games are closed.
To signify the Olympic Truce, and to recognize that both the United
Nations and the Olympic Movement strive for peace and understanding
among all nations and people, at the Olympic Games the UN flag is
flown at each Olympic event.
{1}
1
International Olympic Committee Website, July 2000
2
Olympic Charter -
International Olympic Committee, 12 December 1999.
3 Zach Harden, 2001; February 9, 2002.
4 Thomas Binder, 31 March 2002.
5 Dean McGee, February 8, 2002.
6 Joe McMillan, February 9, 2002.