During the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, athletes from each participating country paraded in the stadium, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Paralympic Committee

National Paralympic Committee

National Paralympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee , they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Paralympic Games.The Paralympic Games are a major...

 or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. It is considered a great honour to bear the country's flag in the Parade of Nations.

Parade order

Per tradition, the host country, in this case the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, marched last however contrary to tradition in the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 the national team of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 did not enter first. All other nations marched in name order in the language of the host nation, which in this case is the Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

. As Chinese is written in characters and not letters, the order of the teams' entry was determined by the number of strokes in the first character of their respective countries' Simplified Chinese names. Countries with the same number of strokes in the first character are sorted by those of the next character. This made Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

 (几内亚) the first country to enter, as it takes two strokes to write the first character in the country's name (几), and Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 (赞比亚) last-but-one, ahead of China.

List

The following is a list of each country's flag bearer. The list is sorted in Latin alphabetical order.

Nation	Flag bearer	Sport
	Mohammad Fahim Rahimi	Powerlifting Powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
	Mohamed Allek Mohamed Allek Mohamed Allek is a Paralympian athlete from Algeria competing mainly in category T37 sprint events.In 1996 Mohamed won gold medals in the T37 100m and 200m but missed out on a medal in the 400m. 4 years later in Sydney he made amends and won a clean sweep of the T37 sprint gold medals. In 2004 he...	Athletics
	Jose Armando	Athletics
	Velo Silvio	Football 5-A-Side
	Greta Khndzrtsyan	Powerlifting
	Russell Short Russell Short Russell Short is a Paralympic athletics competitor from Victoria, Australia. He won a pair of world gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, setting a world in the men's discus throw F12 event and a Paralympic Games record in the men's shot put F12 even....	Athletics
	Christoph Etzlstorfer	Athletics
	Ilham Zakiyev Ilham Zakiyev Ilham Azizaga oglu Zakiyev is an Azerbaijani blind judoka. Began studying judo in 11 years. In 1998, when he was 18, he went to serve in the army in Aşağı Əbdürrəhmanlı village of Fizuli Rayon. He served in the frontline of the conflict zone. On February 4 of 1999, during a combat mission, was...	Judo Judo is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
	Ahmed Meshaimaa	Athletics
	Abdul Quader Sumon	Athletics
	David Taylor	Swimming Swimming (sport) Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
	Ihar Fartunau Ihar Fartunau Ihar Fartunau is a Paralympian athlete from Belarus competing mainly in category P13 pentathlon events.He competed in the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States...	Athletics
	Nico Vergeylen	Table Tennis Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
	Blandine Sahenou	Powerlifting
	Jennifer Southern	Official
	Sabahudin Delalić Sabahudin Delalić Sabahudin Delalić is a sitting volleyball player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is current captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina national sitting volleyball team. He won three medals at Summer Paralympics. At 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens he won gold medal...	Sitting Volleyball
	Antonio Tenorio Silva Antonio Tenorio Silva Antonio Tenorio da Silva is a Brazilian judoka. As a child, he lost the vision in his left eye from an accident while playing with a slingshot. Six years later, an infection claimed the vision in his right eye, leaving him completely blind.He has participated in four Summer Paralympics and has won...	Judo
	Stela Eneva Stela Eneva Stela Eneva is a Paralympian athlete from Bulgaria competing mainly in throwing events.She competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, There she competed in the F42-46 discus throw, shot putt and javelin throw but failed to win any medals.She had more luck when she competed in the...	Athletics
	Lassane Gasbeogo	Cycling Cycling Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
	Remy Nikobimeze	Athletics
	Vanna Kim	Athletics
	Donovan Tildesley Donovan Tildesley Donovan Tildesley is a blind Canadian swimmer. He was the flag bearer of Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games.-Swimming career:He started swimming at the age of nine...	Swimming
	Artimeza Helena Sequiera	Athletics
	Rosel-Clemariot-Christian Nikona	Athletics
	Robinson Mendez	Wheelchair Tennis Wheelchair Tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for those who have disabilities in their lower bodies. The size of courts, balls, and rackets are same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis; they use specially designed wheelchairs and the ball may bounce up to two times...
	Wang Xiaofu Wang Xiaofu Wang Xiaofu, born in November 1988, is a Chinese swimmer and multiple Paralympic gold medallist.At the age of six, Wang lost his right arm in an electrical accident. At the age of 13, he began training for high-level Paralympic swimming, and won three gold medals when he participated in national...	Swimming
	Hou Ting-Sung	Table Tennis
	Moises Fuentes Moisés Fuentes Moisés Fuentes Rubio is a Mexican professional boxer in the strawweight division and is the current World Boxing Organization strawweight champion.-Professional career:...	Swimming
	Giovanny Rodriguez	Table Tennis
	Oumar Basakoulba Kone	Athletics
	Marija Ivekovic	Athletics
	Yunidis Castillo Yunidis Castillo Yunidis Castillo is a Paralympic athlete from Cuba competing mainly in category T46 sprint events.She competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. There she finished thirteenth in the women's Long jump - F44-46 event. She also competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China...	Athletics
	Karolina Pelentritou	Swimming
	Marketa Sidkova	Archery Archery Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
	Jackie Christiansen Jackie Christiansen Jackie Christiansen is a Paralympian athlete from Denmark competing mainly in category F44 shot putt and discus events.Jackie has competed in three paralympics starting in 2000 in Sydney, Australia where he finished sixth in the shot putt for F44 athletes. He later improved on this winning gold in...	Athletics
	Alfonso Olibero Encarnacion	Athletics
	Jose Marino	Powerlifting
	Metwaly Ibrahim Mathna	Powerlifting
	Zulma Cruz	Athletics
	Kristo Ringas	Swimming
	Tesfalem Gebru	Athletics
	Heidi Andreasen Heidi Andreasen Heidi Andreasen is a Faroese swimmer.She represented the Faroe Islands at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, winning three silver medals, in the S8 50m freestyle, the S8 100m freestyle, and the S8 400m freestyle, and a bronze in the S8 100m backstroke.She was the Faroe Islands' sole representative at...	Swimming
	Ranjesh Prakash Ranjesh Prakash Ranjesh Prakash, born in 1988 or 1989 in Vatulaulau, Ba, Fiji, is a Fiji Islands athlete. He competes in sprinting for athletes with visual impairements ....	Athletics
	Minna Leinonen	Shooting Shooting Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
	Assia El Hannouni Assia El Hannouni Assia El Hannouni, born May 30, 1981 in Dijon, is a French track and field athlete who specialises in the 800 metres Paralympic sprint. She is almost blind, with less than one tenth vision in her left eye, and zero in her right eye...	Athletics
	Mabicka Thierry	Athletics
	Yago Gorgadze	Powerlifting
	Conny Dietz	Goalball
	Nkegbe Botsyo	Athletics
	Danny Crates Danny Crates Daniel "Danny" Brian Crates, is a former British athlete, who specialised in 800m sprinting. He is the Paralympic world record holder in this event, and won gold medals in a number of international competitions, including the Paralympic Games. He also plays competitive rugby and is a qualified...	Athletics
	Charalampos Taiganidis	Swimming
	Cesar Arturo Lopez Ivajera	Athletics
	?	?
	Nephtalie Jean Louis	Powerlifting
	Luis Carlos Hernandez Oliva	Athletics
	So Wa Wai So Wa Wai So Wa Wai is an athlete from Hong Kong who has competed in the Paralympic Games on four occasions, winning 11 medals.- Early life :...	Athletics
	Judit Horvathne Palfi	Wheelchair Fencing
	Jon Oddur Haldorsson	Athletics
	Rajinder Singh Rahelu	Powerlifting
	Billy Zeth Makal	Powerlifting
	Faris Al-Ajeeli	Powerlifting
	Patrice Dockery	Athletics
	Mohammad Reza Mirzaei Mohammad Reza Mirzaei Mohammad Reza Mirzaei Jaberi is a Paralympian athlete from Iran competing mainly in category F57 javelin events.Mohammad Reza has competed in four paralympics and has won the javelin in all four...	Athletics
	Yizhar Cohen Yizhar Cohen (swimmer) Yizhar Cohen is an Israeli paralympic swimmer.Cohen was born in Kibbutz Degania Alef. In 1985 he was injured while serving with the Israel Defence Forces, blinded by a mine. Following his loss of eyesight he began practicing disabled sports in athletics and swimming...	Swimming
	Francesca Porcellato Francesca Porcellato Francesca Porcellato is an Italian wheelchair athlete. she fell when she was 2 years old and broke here back. she discoverd that she is paralyzed. In addition to participation in the Paralympics, Porcellato is the only woman to have won four London Marathon wheelchair races...	Athletics
	Tanto Campbell Tanto Campbell Tanto Campbell is a Paralympian athlete from Jamaica competing mainly in category F56 discus events.Tanto is a two time paralympic bronze medalist having won the bronze medal in discus in 2004 in the F56 class and in 2008 in the F55/56 class. In 2004 he also competed in the F55/56 class...	Athletics
	Toru Suzuki Toru Suzuki is a Japanese professional golfer, currently playing on the Japan Golf Tour.Suzuki was born in Gifu Prefecture. He turned professional in 1990.Suzuki won his first event on the Japan Golf Tour in 1993, and would win consistently between then and 2004....	Athletics
	Jamil El-Shebli	Athletics
	Liazat Salimzenova	Powerlifting
	Henry Wanyioke	Athletics
	Park Jong-Chul	Powerlifting
	Hamad Aladwani Hamad Aladwani Hamad Aladwani is a paralympic athlete from Kuwait competing mainly in category T53 sprint events.Hamad competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics winning bronze in the 100m but missing out on medals in the 200m and 400m. 2004 proved to be his best year when winning gold in the 400m and silver in...	Athletics
	Roman Omurbekov	Powerlifting
	Eay Simay	Powerlifting
	Edgars Bergs Edgars Bergs Edgars Bergs is a Paralympian athlete from Latvia competing mainly in category F35 throws events.Edgars competed in the shot putt and discus in both 2004 Summer Paralympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics picking up a bronze in the F35 discus and silver in the F35 shot putt in Athens and a silver in...	Athletics
	Edward Maalouf Edward Maalouf Edward Maalouf is a Lebanese competitive handcyclist, and the only person to have won medals for Lebanon at the Paralympic Games....	Cycling
	Thato Mohasoa	Athletics
	Rolandas Urbonas Rolandas Urbonas Rolandas Urbonas is a paralympic athlete from Lithuania competing mainly in category F12 shot and discus events.Rolandas has competed at four Paralympics and has won three medals. His first games he only competed in the F12 shot putt winning the bronze medal...	Athletics
	Peter Lorkowski	Cycling
	Sahar Elgnemi	Powerlifting
	Kuong Sio Ieng	Athletics
	Vanco Karanfilov	Shooting
	Josefa Harijaona Randrianony	Swimming
	Mariappan Perumsl	Powerlifting
	Sissoko Facourou	Powerlifting
	Atonio Flores	Athletics
	Richard Souci	Athletics
	Saul Mendoza Saúl Mendoza Saúl Mendoza is a former wheelchair racer, who competed at the Olympic and Paralympic levels.He acquired polio when he was 6 months old, and he grew up playing different sports....	Athletics
	Larisa Marinenkova	Powerlifting
	Bazarsuren Choyondorj	Judo
	Dusan Dragovic	Swimming
	Abdelilah Mame	Athletics
	Myint Win	Athletics
	Reginald Benade Reginald Benade Reginald Benade is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category F35/36 throwing events.He competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There he won a bronze medal in the men's F35/36 discus throw event....	Athletics
	Jit Bahadur Khadka	Athletics
	Esther Vergeer Esther Vergeer Esther Vergeer is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player. Combining singles and doubles, she has won 39 Grand Slams, 22 year-end championships and 5 Paralympics titles. Vergeer has been the world number one wheel chair tennis player since 1999. In singles, she has not been beaten since January 2003 and...	Wheelchair Tennis
	Sholto Taylor Sholto Taylor Sholto Taylor, born 1 September 1972, is a New Zealand wheelchair rugby player, and a member of the national team, the Wheel Blacks....	Wheelchair Rugby
	Zakari Amadou	Powerlifting
	Adekunle Adesoji Adekunle Adesoji Adekunle Adesoji is a Paralympian athlete from Nigeria competing mainly in category T12 sprint events.He won the gold in the 100 metres EAD at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and another in the 100 m EAD T12 at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He set Commonwealth Games records in both his victories...	Athletics
	Cecilie Drabsch-Norland	Swimming
	Badar al-Harthi	Powerlifting
	Haider Ali Haider Ali (athlete) Haider Ali is an all-around Pakistani athlete who created history in 2008 Summer Paralympics; by winning a silver medal for his country, which had never won a medal in Paralympic games before.-Beijing Paralympics 2008:...	Athletics
	Husam Azzam Husam Azzam Husam Azzam is a Palestinian athlete. He was, according to the International Paralympic Committee, "the first Palestinian athlete to compete in Paralympic Games" when he represented Palestine at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney...	Athletics
	Said Gomez Said Gomez Said Gomez, born in 1966, is a Panamanian athlete. Visually impaired, having "lost his sight at a young age", he has represented Panama at five consecutive editions of the Summer Paralympic Games...	Athletics
	Francis Kompaon Francis Kompaon Francis Kompaon, born 16 January 1986 in Rabaul, is a Papua New Guinean athlete.He represented Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in athletics in the one hundred metre sprint, T42 category. With a time of 11.10 seconds, he finished second in the final, five...	Athletics
	Jose Gonzales-Mugaburu	Swimming
	Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta	Powerlifting
	Krzystof Smorszczewski	Athletics
	Filomena Franco	Rowing
	Nilda Gomez Lopez	Shooting
	Ali Abdulla Mohamed	Powerlifting
	Eduard Novak Eduard Novák Eduard Novák was a Czechoslovak ice hockey player, a bronze medalist from the 1972 Winter Olympics, and a silver medalist from the 1976 Winter Olympics. He was born in Buštěhrad, Czechoslovakia.-References:...	Cycling
	Alexey Ashapatov Alexey Ashapatov Alexey Ashapatov is a Paralympian athlete from Russia competing mainly in category F57-58 throwing events.He competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There he won two gold medals, one in the men's F57-58 shot putt and the other in the men's F57-58 discus throw.-External links:...	Athletics
	Jean de Dieu Nkundabera Jean de Dieu Nkundabera Jean de Dieu Nkundabera is a Rwandan athlete. He competes in wheelchair racing.Nkundabera represented Rwanda at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, and won his country's first ever Paralympic or Olympic medal in any sport, by taking bronze in the T46 men's 800 metre race, with a time of 1:58.95...	Athletics
	Mose Faatamala	Athletics
	Osamah Alshanqiti Osamah Alshanqiti Osamah Alshanqiti is a Saudi Arabian athlete who competes in triple jump and high jump.He represented Saudi Arabia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and won his country's first ever Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, with a world record jump of 15.37 metres in the F12 triple jump...	Athletics
	Nidiaye Mor	Athletics
	Zlatko Kesler	Table tennis
	Rui Si Theresa Goh	Swimming
	Ladislav Gaspar	Table tennis
	Franc Pinter	Shooting
	Natalie du Toit Natalie du Toit Natalie du Toit is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka...	Swimming
	David Casinos David Casinos David Casinos is a Paralympian athlete from Spain competing mainly in category F11 shot putt events.David is a three time paralympic gold medalist in the shot putt having won the F11 class in 2000 and 2004 and the combined F11/12 class in 2008. He also competed in the discus in all three...	Athletics
	Sandun Wasana Perera	Powerlifting
	Biondi Misasi	Athletics
	Anders Olsson Anders Olsson (swimmer) Anders Olsson is a Swedish swimmer and triathlete.Olsson is paralysed from the waist down and has barely 50 per cent lung capacity left after the injury.-Career:...	Swimming
	Heinz Frei Heinz Frei Heinz Frei is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Frei has had a long career of racing, winning the London Marathon wheelchair race three times, and earning 5 medals at the 2003 European games at the age of 45...	Athletics / Cycling
	Rasha Alshikh	Powerlifting
	Khayrullo Abdurahimov	Powerlifting
	Ernest Nyabalale	Athletics
	Supachai Koysub Supachai Koysub Supachai Koysub is an athlete and Paralympian from Thailand competing mainly in category T54 sprint events.He competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia...	Athletics
	Liliana da Costa Silva	Powerlifting
	Mounga Okusitino	Athletics
	Ahmed Benhaj Ali	Athletics
	Korhan Yamac	Shooting
	Ovezgeldy Ordjiyev	Powerlifting
	Billy Ssengendo	Powerlifting
	Andrii Komar	Wheelchair fencing Wheelchair fencing Wheelchair fencing is a version of Fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair Fencing that is a federation of the International Paralympic Committee, and is one of the sports in the Summer Paralympic Games.-Classification:*class A *class B...
	Abdullah al Aryani	Shooting
	Jennifer Armbruster	Goalball Goalball Goalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes. It was devised by Hanz Lorenzen , and Sepp Reindle , in 1946 in an effort to help in the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans...
	Henry Borges	Judo
	Ravil Diganshin	Athletics
	Tom Tete	Powerlifting
	Reinaldo Carvallo	Judo
	Nguyen Quang Vuong	Swimming
	Lassam Katongo	Athletics
	Elliot Mujaji Elliot Mujaji Elliot Mujaji is a Zimbabwean athlete.A member of Zimbabwe's national athletics team, he qualified to compete at the 1998 Commonwealth Games before suffering severe burns in an electrical accident while at work...	Athletics

Source

• Official list on the website of the International Paralympic Committee
  International Paralympic Committee
  The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports...