From news.com.au

If you were watching the Rio Olympics opening ceremony in Australia, or any other English-speaking country, you may have been scratching your head and asking this question: Why did the teams come out in the wrong order?

Answer: It wasn’t the ‘wrong’ order – they came out in alphabetical order according to the native language of Brazil, using Portuguese names/spelling to determine who went where in the 207-team line-up. International Olympic Committee rules require that the opening ceremony’s official language is that of the host country.

There were a few special exceptions. Greece always marches first, as the country that founded the Olympics. Brazil went last as the host nation, while the Refugee Olympic Team went second-last, by the decision of Brazil’s Games organisers.

Barring that, the list had some noticeable differences to what English audiences might have expected, had they not been aware of Brazil’s right to order the teams by Portuguese.

South Africa (África do Sul) and Germany (Alemanha) were placed in the top five, while the United States (Estados Unidos da América) were much higher in the list than by English, coming in 70th.

Australia was 15th, though any unawares watchers might have been bemused by the earlier marches of the Independent Olympic Athletes and Saudi Arabia.

The issue reportedly caused some tension in America, where 40 million people watched the London 2012 opening ceremony.

The New York Times reported that official US broadcaster “NBC has had discussions with the International Olympic Committee hoping to alter the closely watched Parade of Nations so that United States athletes would appear late in the ceremony. According to the network’s proposal, if they were to enter later, viewers would remain tuned in for a program of several hours.”
NBC had reason to be bullish with the IOC. From the Washington Post: “In 2011, NBC won the right to broadcast all of the Olympic Games from 2014 through 2020 at a cost of $4.38 billion. This year’s Rio Olympics alone will cost the network $1.23 billion. Three years later, the network re-upped with the International Olympic Committee through 2032 for the eye-popping amount of $7.65 billion.”

However, NBC’s request to have the US march later was knocked back. The network denied the specific charge that it wanted “English spelling” used.

As it turned out, the USA was wedged between Micronesia and Estonia. Some viewers weren’t happy with the treatment of the Micronesian team by broadcasters:

“We are totally not going to disrespect Micronesia because USA IS TOTALLY RIGHT BEHIND THEM. SEE AMERICA? IT’S AMERICA. AMERICA. #Olympics”

“I love America, but Matt Lauer did not have to diss Micronesia like that. #ParadeofNations”

“We’re not going to overlook Micronesia, they’ll have their moment
*Immediately starts talking about America*’

Here is the full order of countries by Portuguese spelling:
1 Greece (GRE)Grécia
2 Afghanistan (AFG)Afeganistão
3 South Africa (RSA)África do Sul
4 Albania (ALB)Albânia
5 Germany (GER)Alemanha
6 Andorra (AND)Andorra
7 Angola (ANG)Angola
8 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT)Antígua e Barbuda
9 Saudi Arabia (KSA)Arábia Saudita
10 Algeria (ALG)Argélia
11 Argentina (ARG)Argentina
12 Armenia (ARM)Armênia
13 Aruba (ARU)Aruba
14 Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA)Atletas Olímpicos Independentes
15 Australia (AUS)Austrália
16 Austria (AUT)Áustria
17 Azerbaijan (AZE)Azerbaijão
18 Bahamas (BAH)Bahamas
19 Bangladesh (BAN)Bangladesh
20 Barbados (BAR)Barbados
21 Bahrain (BRN)Bareine
22 Belarus (BLR)Belarus
23 Belgium (BEL)Bélgica
24 Belize (BIZ)Belize
25 Benin (BEN)Benim
26 Bermuda (BER)Bermuda
27 Bolivia (BOL)Bolívia
28 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH)Bósnia e Herzegovina
29 Botswana (BOT)Botsuana
30 Brunei Darussalam (BRU)Brunei Darussalam
31 Bulgaria (BUL)Bulgária
32 Burkina Faso (BUR)Burkina Faso
33 Burundi (BDI)Burundi
34 Bhutan (BHU)Butão
35 Cape Verde (CPV)Cabo Verde
36 Cameroon (CMR)Camarões
37 Cambodia (CAM)Camboja
38 Canada (CAN)Canadá
39 Qatar (QAT)Catar
40 Kazakhstan (KAZ)Cazaquistão
41 Cayman Islands (CAY)Ilhas Cayman
42 Central African Republic (CAF)República Centroafricana
43 Chad (CHA)Chade
44 Chile (CHI)Chile
45 People’s Republic of China (CHN)República Popular da China
46 Cyprus (CYP)Chipre
47 Colombia (COL)Colômbia
48 Comoros (COM)Comores
49 Congo (CGO)Congo
50 Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)República Democrática do Congo
51 Cook Islands (COK)Ilhas Cook
52 Republic of Korea (KOR)República da Coreia
53 Côte d’Ivoire (CIV)Costa do Marfim
54 Costa Rica (CRC)Costa Rica
55 Croatia (CRO)Croácia
56 Cuba (CUB)Cuba
57 Denmark (DEN)Dinamarca
58 Djibouti (DJI)Djibuti
59 Dominica (DMA)Dominica
60 Dominican Republic (DOM)República Dominicana
61 Egypt (EGY)Egito
62 El Salvador (ESA)El Salvador
63 United Arab Emirates (UAE)Emirados Árabes Unidos
64 Ecuador (ECU)Equador
65 Eritrea (ERI)Eritreia
66 Slovakia (SVK)Eslováquia
67 Slovenia (SLO)Eslovênia
68 Spain (ESP)Espanha
69 Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)Estados Federados da Micronésia
70 United States of America (USA)Estados Unidos da América
71 Estonia (EST)Estônia
72 Ethiopia (ETH)Etiópia
73 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD)Ex-República Iugoslava da Macedônia
74 Fiji (FIJ)Fiji
75 Philippines (PHI)Filipinas
76 Finland (FIN)Finlândia
77 France (FRA)França
78 Gabon (GAB)Gabão
79 Gambia (GAM)Gâmbia
80 Ghana (GHA)Gana
81 Georgia (GEO)Geórgia
82 Great Britain (GBR)Grã-Bretanha
83 Grenada (GRN)Granada
84 Guam (GUM)Guam
85 Guatemala (GUA)Guatemala
86 Guyana (GUY)Guiana
87 Guinea (GUI)Guiné
88 Equatorial Guinea (GEQ)Guiné Equatorial
89 Guinea-Bissau (GBS)Guiné-Bissau
90 Haiti (HAI)Haiti
91 Honduras (HON)Honduras
92 Hong Kong, China (HKG)Hong Kong, China
93 Hungary (HUN)Hungria
94 Yemen (YEM)Iêmen
95 India (IND)Índia
96 Indonesia (INA)Indonésia
97 Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)República Islâmica do Irã
98 Iraq (IRQ)Iraque
99 Ireland (IRL)Irlanda
100 Iceland (ISL)Islândia
101 Israel (ISR)Israel
102 Italy (ITA)Itália
103 Jamaica (JAM)Jamaica
104 Japan (JPN)Japão
105 Jordan (JOR)Jordânia
106 Kiribati (KIR)Kiribati
107 Kosovo (KOS)Kosovo
108 Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LAO)República Popular Democrática do Laos
109 Lesotho (LES)Lesoto
110 Latvia (LAT)Letônia
111 Lebanon (LIB)Líbano
112 Liberia (LBR)Libéria
113 Libya (LBA)Líbia
114 Liechtenstein (LIE)Liechtenstein
115 Lithuania (LTU)Lituânia
116 Luxembourg (LUX)Luxemburgo
117 Madagascar (MAD)Madagascar
118 Malaysia (MAS)Malásia
119 Malawi (MAW)Maláui
120 Maldives (MDV)Maldivas
121 Mali (MLI)Mali
122 Malta (MLT)Malta
123 Marshall Islands (MHL)Ilhas Marshall
124 Morocco (MAR)Marrocos
125 Mauritius (MRI)Maurício
126 Mauritania (MTN)Mauritânia
127 Mexico (MEX)México
128 Mozambique (MOZ)Moçambique
129 Republic of Moldova (MDA)República da Moldova
130 Monaco (MON)Mônaco
131 Mongolia (MGL)Mongólia
132 Montenegro (MNE)Montenegro
133 Myanmar (MYA)Myanmar
134 Namibia (NAM)Namíbia
135 Nauru (NRU)Nauru
136 Nepal (NEP)Nepal
137 Nicaragua (NCA)Nicarágua
139 Nigeria (NGR)Nigéria
140 Norway (NOR)Noruega
141 New Zealand (NZL)Nova Zelândia
142 Oman (OMA)Omã
143 Netherlands (NED)Países Baixos
144 Palau (PLW)Palau
145 Palestine (PLE)Palestina
146 Panama (PAN)Panamá
147 Papua New Guinea (PNG)Papua Nova Guiné
148 Pakistan (PAK)Paquistão
149 Paraguay (PAR)Paraguai
150 Peru (PER)Peru
151 Poland (POL)Polônia
152 Puerto Rico (PUR)Porto Rico
153 Portugal (POR)Portugal
154 Kenya (KEN)Quênia
155 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)Quirguistão
156 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK)República Popular Democrática da Coreia
157 Romania (ROU)Romênia
158 Rwanda (RWA)Ruanda
159 Russian Federation (RUS)Federação da Rússia
160 Solomon Islands (SOL)Ilhas Salomão
161 Samoa (SAM)Samoa
162 American Samoa (ASA)Samoa Americana
163 San Marino (SMR)San Marino
164 Saint Lucia (LCA)Santa Lúcia
165 Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN)São Cristóvão e Névis
166 São Tomé and Príncipe (STP)São Tomé e Príncipe
167 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN)São Vicente e Granadinas
168 Seychelles (SEY)Seicheles
169 Senegal (SEN)Senegal
170 Sierra Leone (SLE)Serra Leoa
171 Serbia (SRB)Sérvia
172 Singapore (SIN)Singapura
173 Syrian Arab Republic (SYR)República Árabe da Síria
174 Somalia (SOM)Somália
175 Sri Lanka (SRI)Sri Lanka
176 Swaziland (SWZ)Suazilândia
177 Sudan (SUD)Sudão
178 South Sudan (SSD)Sudão do Sul
179 Sweden (SWE)Suécia
180 Switzerland (SUI)Suíça
181 Suriname (SUR)Suriname
182 Tajikistan (TJK)Tadjiquistão
183 Thailand (THA)Tailândia
184 Chinese Taipei (TPE)Taipé Chinesa
185 United Republic of Tanzania (TAN)República Unida da Tanzânia
186 Czech Republic (CZE)República Tcheca
187 Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (TLS)República Democrática de Timor-Leste
188 Togo (TOG)Togo
189 Tonga (TGA)Tonga
190 Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)Trinidad e Tobago
191 Tunisia (TUN)Tunísia
192 Turkmenistan (TKM)Turcomenistão
193 Turkey (TUR)Turquia
194 Tuvalu (TUV)Tuvalu
195 Ukraine (UKR)Ucrânia
196 Uganda (UGA)Uganda
197 Uruguay (URU)Uruguai
198 Uzbekistan (UZB)Uzbequistão
199 Vanuatu (VAN)Vanuatu
200 Venezuela (VEN)Venezuela
201 Vietnam (VIE)VietnãVũ
202 Virgin Islands, US (ISV)Ilhas Virgens Americanas
203 British Virgin Islands (IVB)Ilhas Virgens Britânicas
204 Zambia (ZAM)Zâmbia
205 Zimbabwe (ZIM) Zimbábue
206 Refugee Olympic Team (ROT)
207 Brazil (BRA) Brasil

IMAGES:
Anna Meares carries the flag of Australia during the opening ceremony. Source: AP
The USA’s Michael Phelps carries the flag during the opening ceremony of Rio 2016. Source:AFP
Timo Boll leads out Germany … and Andorra.Source:Getty Images

For more on this story go to: http://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/rio-olympics-opening-ceremonys-parade-of-nations-order-by-brazils-portuguese–a-1-billion-headache/news-story/a246d1e7529d5674c92bdc802cc8c756