Walking Down the Isles of Wonder at the XXX Olympiad

In less than 30 minutes, athletes from 205 countries of the world, who have made great sacrifices to get to the Olympics will gather to celebrate a sporting tradition that dates back as far back as 8 B.C

Everyone will stand united in a spirit of true sportsmanship, each person with similar goals – go for gold- or maybe not everyone. Having a chance to compete at the Olympics is every athlete’s dream. If the medals come in, that’s just more icing on the cake. It’s amazing how sports just happen to bring the peoples of the world together. All differences set aside.

Tonight’s ceremony is also a chance for the world to get the best of British culture and hospitality. Apart from the cultural display and performances, another major highlight is the entrance of the Olympic flame and the lighting of the Cauldron, which signifies the beginning of the games and will remain lit till the closing ceremony.

In spite of a highly anticipated rich cultural display, certain Olympic traditions will be observed such as the Parade of Nations with Greece leading the procession as the progenitors of the Olympics, followed by all other teams in alphabetical order, and then the host nation comes in last, the speeches by the president of the Organizing Committee and the president of the IOC.

53 African teams will feature in the Parade of Nations. The number of athletes competing per African  country with their respective flag bearers is as follows:

Algeria: 39 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Abdelhafid Benchabla

Angola: 35 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Antonia Moreira

Benin: 5 Athletes;

Botswana: 4 Athletes;

Burkina Faso: 5 Athletes;

Burundi: 6 Athletes

Cameroon: 37 Athletes; Flag Bearer -  Annabelle Ali

Cape Verde: 3 Athletes;

Central African Republic: 6 Athletes;

Chad: 3 Athletes

Comoros: 3 Athletes

Congo: 7 Athletes

Cote d’Ivoire: 10 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Murielle Ahouré

DR Congo: 4 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Ilunga Mande

Djibouti: 6 Athletes; Flag Bearer –

Egypt: 90 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Hesham Mesbah

Equatorial Guinea: 2 Athletes;

Eritrea: 12 Athletes: Flag Bearer

Ethiopia: 35 Athletes:

Gabon: 28 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Rudy Zang Milama

Gambia: 2 Athletes;

Ghana: 9 Athletes;

Guinea: 4 Athletes;

Guinea Bissau: 4 Athletes;

Kenya: 50 Athletes; Flag Bearer - David Rudisha

Lesotho: 4 Athletes;

Liberia: 4 Athletes; Flag Bearer - Phobay Kutu-Akoi

Libya: 5 Athletes: Flag Bearer – Mohamed Khouaja

Madagascar: 7 Athletes; Flag Bearer –

Malawi: 3 Athletes;

Mali: 6 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Rahamatou Drame

Mauritania: 2 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Souleyman Chebal Moctar

Mauritius: 11 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Natacha Rigobert

Morocco: 72 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Wiam Dislam

Mozambique: 6 Athletes; Flag Bearer –

Namibia: 9 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Gaby Ahrens

Niger: 6 Athletes;

Nigeria: 53 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Sinivie Boltic

Rwanda: 7 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Adrien Niyonshuti

S.Tome & Principe: 2 Athletes

Senegal: 35 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Ndiss

Seychelles: 6 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Dominic Dugasse

Sierra Leone: 2 Athletes;

Somalia: 2 Athletes;

South Africa: 133 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Caster

Sudan: 6 Athletes; Flag Bearer -

Swaziland: 3 Athletes;

Tanzania: 7 Athletes;

Togo: 6 Athletes;

Tunisia: 83 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Heykel Megannem

Uganda: 16 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Ganzi Mugula

Zambia: 7 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Prince Mumba

Zimbabwe: 7 Athletes; Flag Bearer – Kirsty Coventry