When does the U.S. come out at the Opening Ceremony? What to know about the order

One of the biggest moments at an Olympic Opening Ceremony is what’s known as the Parade of Nations, where athletes from the more than 90 participating countries enter with their flag.

But the order they march in is not what you might think — and the U.S. will have a unique position.

The first nation to enter will be Greece, the nation where the Olympics originated thousands of years ago and where the first modern Games took place in 1896.

After that, the countries are arranged in alphabetical order, but in the language of the host country. Event still, the U.S. won’t march in its spot in this order, however.

That’s because future Olympic host countries move to the end of the order, just before the host country marches last.

The United States will go before France, as Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympics.

Just before Italy will be France, hosts of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.

One other caveat is that Russians and Belarusians cannot take part in the Opening Ceremony’s parade of athletes as they are competing as neutral athletes, or AIN.

The Opening Ceremony, considered the official kickoff to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games, will begin Friday afternoon, with several highly anticipated events and performances — and a historic first.

The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 6, at San Sire Olympic Stadium, but coverage of the event will start slightly earlier.

Organizers said they expect the ceremony to last approximately three hours, about the same as previous opening ceremonies.

NBC will air the Opening Ceremony live.

Coverage of the ceremony will start at 12:40 p.m. CT, 20 minutes ahead of the ceremony’s official start.

Anyone who misses the live coverage will have a second chance to watch it in primetime on NBC when it re-airs at 7 p.m. CT.

The event will also be streamed live on Peacock, NBC Chicago’s streaming channel and NBC Olympics platforms.

You can also stream the coverage using the link below:

Live:

Primetime: