Belarusian national flag was hoisted over Olympic Village

Belarusian sports delegation attended the grand ceremony of national flags raising over the Olympic Village, according to the NOC press center.

The traditional Olympic ceremony of raising the flags of participating countries anticipates the official opening of the Olympiad and signifies athletes' willigness to start competing for medals.

The actual Rio ceremony was held in accordance with a special protocol and lasted for approximately 30 minutes, with national teams from different continents gathered in the meantime.

On behalf of the Belarusian national team, its Chef de Mission Aliaksandr Gagiev complimented the Mayor of the Olympic Village, Brazilian basketball world champion Janeth dos Santos Arcain with a collection of badges labelled with images of those sports, which our athletes would compete in. 

In return, Arcain handed over the Games memorable emblem to our delegates, which would develop the NOC of Belarus museum in future.

The ceremony was attended by the representatives of national boxing, rowing, basketball, and table tennis teams.