Why The Olympic Athletes Don't March Behind Their Own Flag At The Closing Ceremony
The plan was hatched 65 years ago by a teenager who is credited with saving the Games from disaster. His anonymous letter created a new Olympic tradition.
When the Olympics end, athletes don't repeat the highly regimented parade of the opening ceremony. For the closing, they sort of wander in, mingling with other nationalities. It's all part of a plan hatched 65 years ago by a teenager. Despite being credited with saving the Games from disaster, for decades, few people knew his name.
In the closing ceremony, the athletes walk "en masse and in no particular order," officials for the Tokyo Games say, making the final parade much more casual and easygoing than the highly scripted opener. In , Olympians wandered in, chatting with other delegations
