Here's what to know about the Parade of Nations in the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and how the country order is determined.

Emotional scenes unfolded at the Winter Olympics as Greek skier AJ Ginnis took to the slopes for the final run of his career

Davidson College Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics Allison Smith examines the "distant echoes" of the original Olympic Games and how they compare to the modern global competition. The discussion explores the evolution of the games from a sacred religious sanctuary at Olympia to today's "moving circus" of international host cities.

Greece, as always, will be the first country introduced in the Parade of Nations for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

In the last Olympics, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, the U.S. went second-to-last as athletes paraded down the Seine River. The logic there was similar: Los Angeles is hosting the next summer Olympics in 2028.