2026 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremony Flag Bearers

[Zed456]

As I am at work and can't watch live the first day of the Team Event...I had to check on the down-low, and it looks like this will be the final version of the figure skaters flag bearer list....unless Taiwan finally names Li Yu-Hsiang(other male athletes are in the snow sports, so theoratically he is the only one on site at the Milano ceremony

Taiwan have named Li Yu-Hsiang! So that's 15 figure skaters as flagbearers, a nice improvement on Beijing's 12

 

[ruffledgrouse]

Is this going to be the official watch thread too? Or will there be another?

 

[el henry]

Evan Bates has been named as a flag bearer at the closing ceremony for Team USA

 

[ladyjane]

Do you know @el henry when I saw this video earlier today - on face book or another social - I could watch (like Madison putting him the jacket on) but now the video is not available anymore. Definitely not your fault, but I do wonder....

 

[lileychristie]

Do we know if Kazakhstan is going to make Misha Shaidorov a flag bearer for the closing ceremony? (they really should!)

 

[4everchan]

Do we know if Kazakhstan is going to make Misha Shaidorov a flag bearer for the closing ceremony? (they really should!)

Usually, countries select a gold medal winner, or any medalist if they didn't earn gold.

Kazakhstan has earned only one medal, Misha's. So it would make sense... unless he was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies... I don't remember.

 

[TT_Fin]

Iida Karhunen, Finland: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVBfsv2jDr9/?hl=fi

 

[4everchan]

Iida Karhunen, Finland: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVBfsv2jDr9/?hl=fi

I would have assumed Finland would have picked one of their Ski jumpers.
Maybe they carried the flag at opening or in other games.

Great for Iida

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Just read on X that Kaori will be the flagbearer for Japan

 

[sissy7]

Updated the first post with known flag bearers for the Closing Ceremony as well. Thanks all, and let me know when you find out about any more skaters who will have sore arms on Sunday

Update 21 Feb
I feel that I have no choice but to add a list for the Closing Ceremony as well. Thanks to whoever changed the thread name for me!
As we old Olympics fans know, at the Closing Ceremony, the athletes all walk in together, and the only national distinctions are what athletes wear and the few honoured to bear the flag. Most NOCs choose their best-performing athletes or honour retiring greats in their sport. Unclear if some NOCs would repeat from the Opening Ceremony.
As there will not be an announcement for each country, I chose to use the same order as the NOCs entered in the Opening:

Italian Olympic listing	Country	Athlete	Discipline
30	FIN	Iida KARHUNEN	Women	@TT_Fin
34	JPN	SAKAMOTO Kaori	Women	@DemTuppesSeine
90	USA	Evan BATES	Ice Dance	@el henry

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Pavlova/Sviatchenko have been announced for Hungary

 

[saine]

Full list is here - https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-...amed-for-milano-cortina-2026-closing-ceremony

Mikhail Shaidorov for Kazakhstan, Niina Petrokina for Estonia, Luka Berulava for Georgia, Meda Variakojyte for Lithuania, Donovan Carrillo for Mexico, Julia Sauter for Romania are the other current figure skaters listed for the closing ceremony flagbearers.

 

[4everchan]

Valérie Maltais and Steven Dubois for Canada... Both from speed skating, long track for Val and short track for Steven. Both from Québec, la belle province did earn most of the medals for Canada these games

 

[TT_Fin]

I found the basis for the selection of Finnish flag bearers:

"Karhunen was 16th in the Olympic Games. In a press release, Olympic team leader Janne Hänninen explained why Karhunen was chosen.

– A meteoric rise from a young athlete. Both the short and free programs were a big success for Karhunen. The opening ceremonies have traditionally been events where the honorary task has been given to experienced and already successful athletes. As for the decision-makers, I think it is important that we build a tradition where the honorary task is given to those who have succeeded in the games – Iida is definitely one of them."

 

[boo69]

Glad I watched the live version of the closing ceremony. Lots of stuff were left out like the medal ceremonies of the cross country 50K mass start. The prime time version didn't show the montage at the end. I think that's the 1st time the montage wasn't shown in prime time. Credits at the end weren't shown this time. I think that's a first.

 

[sissy7]

Pavlova/Sviatchenko have been announced for Hungary

Don't know what happened here, cause in the end short track athletes were the flagbearers for the Closing as well...
Maybe because of the backlash that happened in Russia, cause they represented Hungary, and that somehow is an affront to Russian pride