List of people who have kept the Olympic flag

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event featuring both summer and winter sports, held every two years with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. During Olympic Games closing ceremonies, the sitting president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hands the flag from the current mayor of the current host city to the current mayor of the next host city. The current Olympic Charter requires this person to be the mayor of the next host city, although this has not always been the case. This article lists the people who have had the ceremonial duty to pass the Olympic flag from one to another for them to keep until the closing ceremony of each games.

Mayor Karen Bass currently keeps the Rio flag for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

Mayors Giuseppe Sala (pictured) and Gianluca Lorenzi currently keep the PyeongChang flag for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo

Mayor Barthélémy Dias currently keeps the Singapore flag for the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar

Governor Kim Jin-tae currently keeps the Innsbruck flag for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon Province

Closing ceremony

The IOC factsheet on the closing ceremony states: "The mayors of the current host city and next host city join the IOC President. The mayor of the host city hands the flag to the IOC President, who hands it on to the mayor of the next host city." The Olympic Charter sets out the exact drill that the flag are to be handed by the mayor of the current host city to another of the next host city. Three flags were used at the Summer Olympics, the first called the Antwerp flag that was used from 1920 to 1984 when it showed signs of wear. The second is called the Seoul flag that was used from 1988 to 2012. In 2016, the Seoul flag was replaced by the Rio flag, which symbolizes the first edition of the Games that was held in South America. In the Winter Games, the flag used is the PyeongChang flag, which was first used in 2018 to symbolize the first edition of the Winter Games held in mainland Asia. It replaced the Oslo flag that was used from 1952 to 2014. In some editions, a replica of it was used for conservation reasons. In the Summer Youth Olympic Games, the Singapore flag has been used since 2010, while in the Winter Youth Olympic Games, the Innsbruck flag is used. Also for conservation reasons, replicas are used.

With nearly five years of keeping the Olympic flag for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, governor Yuriko Koike is the longest keeper of the flag. With two years of keeping the Olympic flag for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, mayor Audun Tron is the shortest keeper of the flag.

Keeper of the Summer Olympic flag

Year	Games	Host city	Keeper of the Olympic flag	Office of keeper	Date
1920	VII Olympiad	Antwerp, Belgium	Jan De Vos	Mayor (Burgomaster) of Antwerp	14 August 1920 – 12 September 1920
1924	VIII Olympiad	Paris, France	Auguste Autrand	Prefect of Seine	12 September 1920 – 22 October 1922
			Hippolyte Juillard		22 October 1922 – 27 July 1924
1928	IX Olympiad	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Willem de Vlugt	Mayor (Burgomaster) of Amsterdam	27 July 1924 – 12 August 1928
1932	X Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	George E. Cryer	Mayor of Los Angeles	12 August 1928 – 1 July 1929
			John Clinton Porter		1 July 1929 – 14 August 1932
1936	XI Olympiad	Berlin, Germany	Heinrich Sahm	Governing Mayor of Berlin	14 August 1932 – 19 December 1935
			Oskar Maretzky		19 December 1935 – 16 August 1936
1940	XII Olympiad (cancelled)	Tokyo, Japan	Ushizaka Toratan	Mayor of Tokyo	16 August 1936 – 9 May 1937
			Ichita Kobashi		9 May 1937 – 16 July 1938
		Helsinki, Finland	Antti Tulenheimo	City Manager of Helsinki	16 July 1938 – 25 November 1939
Olympic programs were suspended from 1939 to 1946 due to World War II
1948	XIV Olympiad	London, Great Britain	Lord Latham	Leader of the London County Council	September 1946 – 1947
			Isaac Hayward		1947 – 14 August 1948
1952	XV Olympiad	Helsinki, Finland	Eero Rydman	City Manager of Helsinki	14 August 1948 – 3 August 1952
1956	XVI Olympiad	Melbourne, Australia	William John Brens	Lord Mayor of Melbourne	3 August 1952 – 1953
			Robert Henry Solly		1953 – 1954
			Francis Palmer Selleck		1954 – 9 December 1956
1960	XVII Olympiad	Rome, Italy	Umberto Tupini	Mayor of Rome	9 December 1956 – 10 January 1958
			Urbano Cioccetti		10 January 1958 – 11 September 1960
1964	XVIII Olympiad	Tokyo, Japan	Ryotaro Azuma	Governor of Tokyo	11 September 1960 – 24 October 1964
1968	XIX Olympiad	Mexico City, Mexico	Ernesto P. Uruchurtu	Head of the Federal District Department	24 October 1964 – 14 September 1966
			Alfonso Corona del Rosal		14 September 1966 – 27 October 1968
1972	XX Olympiad	Munich, West Germany	Hans-Jochen Vogel	Mayor of Munich	27 October 1968 – 11 June 1972
			Georg Kronawitter		11 June 1972 – 10 September 1972
1976	XXI Olympiad	Montreal, Canada	Jean Drapeau	Mayor of Montreal	10 September 1972 – 1 August 1976
1980	XXII Olympiad	Moscow, Soviet Union	Vladimir Promyslov	Mayor of Moscow	1 August 1976 – 3 August 1980
1984	XXIII Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	Tom Bradley	Mayor of Los Angeles	3 August 1980 – 12 August 1984
1988	XXIV Olympiad	Seoul, South Korea	Yeom Bo-hyeon	Mayor of Seoul	12 August 1984 – 30 February 1987
			Kim Yong-rae		30 February 1987 – 2 October 1988
1992	XXV Olympiad	Barcelona, Spain	Pasqual Maragall	Mayor of Barcelona	2 October 1988 – 9 August 1992
1996	XXVI Olympiad	Atlanta, United States	Maynard Jackson	Mayor of Atlanta	9 August 1992 – January 1994
			Bill Campbell		January 1994 - 4 August 1996
2000	XXVII Olympiad	Sydney, Australia	Frank Sartor	Lord Mayor of Sydney	4 August 1996 – 1 October 2000
2004	XXVIII Olympiad	Athens, Greece	Dimitris Avramopoulos	Mayor of Athens	1 October 2000 – 31 December 2002
			Dora Bakoyannis		1 January 2003 – 29 August 2004
2008	XXIX Olympiad	Beijing, China	Wang Qishan	Mayor of Beijing	29 August 2004 – 30 November 2007
			Guo Jinlong		30 November 2007 – 24 August 2008
2012	XXX Olympiad	London, Great Britain	Boris Johnson	Mayor of London	24 August 2008 – 12 August 2012
2016	XXXI Olympiad	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Eduardo Paes	Mayor of Rio de Janeiro	12 August 2012 – 21 August 2016
2020	XXXII Olympiad	Tokyo, Japan	Yuriko Koike	Governor of Tokyo	21 August 2016 – 8 August 2021
2024	XXXIII Olympiad	Paris, France	Anne Hidalgo	Mayor of Paris	8 August 2021 – 11 August 2024
2028	XXXIV Olympiad	Los Angeles, United States	Karen Bass	Mayor of Los Angeles	11 August 2024 – present
2032	XXXV Olympiad	Brisbane, Australia	TBD (Adrian Schrinner incumbent; election due 25 March 2028)	Lord Mayor of Brisbane	To start 30 July 2028

Keepers of the Winter Olympic flag

Year	Games	Host city	Keeper of the Olympic flag	Office of keeper	Date
1952	VI Winter Olympiad	Oslo, Norway	Brynjulf Bull	Mayor of Oslo	14 February 1952 – 25 February 1952
1956	VII Winter Olympiad	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Mario Rimoldi	Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo	25 February 1952 – 5 February 1956
1960	VIII Winter Olympiad	Squaw Valley, United States	Roy Mikkelsen	Mayor of Auburn	5 February 1956 – 28 February 1960
1964	VIX Winter Olympiad	Innsbruck, Austria	Alois Lugger	Mayor of Innsbruck	28 February 1960 – 9 February 1964
1968	X Winter Olympiad	Grenoble, France	Léon Martin	Mayor of Grenoble	9 February 1964 – March 1965
			Hubert Dubedout		March 1965 – 18 February 1968
1972	XI Winter Olympiad	Sapporo, Japan	Yosaku Harada	Mayor of Saporro	18 February 1968 – April 1971
			Takeshi Itagaki		April 1971 – 13 February 1972
1976	XII Winter Olympiad	Denver, United States	William H. McNichols Jr.	Mayor of Denver	13 February 1972 – 15 November 1972
		Vacant			15 November 1972 – 5 February 1973
		Innsbruck, Austria	Alois Lugger	Mayor of Innsbruck	5 February 1973 – 9 February 1976
1980	XIII Winter Olympiad	Lake Placid, United States	Robert Peacock	Mayor of Lake Placid	9 February 1976 – 23 February 1980
1984	XIV Winter Olympiad	Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia	Anto Sučić	Mayor of Sarajevo	23 February 1980 – 1981
			Emerik Blum		1981 – 1983
			Uglješa Uzelac		1983 – 19 February 1984
1988	XV Winter Olympiad	Calgary, Canada	Ralph Klein	Mayor of Calgary	19 February 1984 – 28 February 1988
1992	XVI Winter Olympiad	Albertville, France	Henri Dujol	Mayor of Albertville	28 February 1988 – 23 February 1992
1994	XVII Winter Olympiad	Lillehammer, Norway	Audun Tron	Mayor of Lillehammer	23 February 1992 – 27 February 1994
1998	XVIII Winter Olympiad	Nagano, Japan	Tasuku Tsukada	Mayor of Nagano	27 February 1994 – 22 February 1998
2002	XIX Winter Olympiad	Salt Lake City, United States	Deedee Corradini	Mayor of Salt Lake City	22 February 1998 – 3 January 2000
			Rocky Anderson		3 January 2000 – 24 February 2002
2006	XX Winter Olympiad	Turin, Italy	Sergio Chiamparino	Mayor of Turin	24 February 2002 – 26 February 2006
2010	XXI Winter Olympiad	Vancouver, Canada	Sam Sullivan	Mayor of Vancouver	26 February 2006 – 8 December 2008
			Gregor Robertson		8 December 2008 – 28 February 2010
2014	XXII Winter Olympiad	Sochi, Russia	Anatoly Pakhomov	Mayor of Sochi	28 February 2010 – 23 February 2014
2018	XXIII Winter Olympiad	Pyeongchang, South Korea	Lee Seok-rae	Mayor of Pyeongchang	23 February 2014 – 30 June 2014
			Sim Jae-guk		1 July 2014 – 25 February 2018
2022	XXIV Winter Olympiad	Beijing, China	Chen Jining	Mayor of Beijing	25 February 2018 – 20 February 2022
2026	XXV Winter Olympiad	Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Giuseppe Sala	Mayor of Milan	20 February 2022 – present
			Gianpietro Ghedina	Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo	20 February 2022 – 13 June 2022
			Gianluca Lorenzi		13 June 2022 – present
2030	XXVI Winter Olympiad	French Alps, France	Christian Estrosi or his successor (expected)	Mayor of Nice	To start 22 February 2026
2034	XXVII Winter Olympiad	Salt Lake City, United States	Erin Mendenhall or her successor (expected)	Mayor of Salt Lake City	To start 17 February 2030

Keepers of the Summer Youth Olympic flag

Year	Games	Host city	Keeper of the Olympic flag	Office of keeper	Date
2010	I Youth Olympiad	Singapore	Teo Ser Luck	Mayor of the Northeast District	14 August 2010 – 26 August 2010
2014	II Youth Olympiad	Nanjing, China	Ji Jianye	Mayor of Nanjing	26 August 2010 – 16 October 2013
			Miao Ruilin		16 October 2013 – 28 August 2014
2018	III Youth Olympiad	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Mauricio Macri	Chief of Government of Buenos Aires	28 August 2014 – 9 December 2015
			Horacio Rodríguez Larreta		9 December 2015 – 18 October 2018
2026	IV Youth Olympiad	Dakar, Senegal	Soham El Wardini	Mayor of Dakar	18 October 2018 – 23 January 2022
			Barthélemy Dias		23 January 2022 – present

Keepers of the Winter Youth Olympic flag

Year	Games	Host city	Keeper of the Olympic flag	Office of keeper	Date
2012	I Winter Youth Olympiad	Innsbruck, Austria	Christine Oppitz-Plörer	Mayor of Innsbruck	13 January 2012 – 22 January 2012
2016	II Winter Youth Olympiad	Lillehammer, Norway	Espen Johnsen	Mayor of Lillehammer	22 January 2012 – 21 February 2016
2020	III Winter Youth Olympiad	Lausanne, Switzerland	Daniel Brélaz	Mayor of Lausanne	21 February 2016 – 30 June 2016
			Grégoire Junod		30 June 2016 – 22 January 2020
2024	IV Winter Youth Olympiad	Gangwon Province, South Korea	Choi Moon-soon	Governor of Gangwon Province	22 January 2020 – 30 June 2022
			Kim Jin-tae		1 July 2022 – TBD
2028	V Winter Youth Olympiad	TBD			TBD

See also

• List of Olympic Games host cities
• List of people who have opened the Olympic Games
• President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games