For every Opening Ceremony , each host country has a theme . During the " Parade of Nations " , the host country 's goal is to represent their cultural identity and to show the world their place in society . For example , in the 2008 Beijing Olympics the theme was “ unity ” . On May 12 , 2008 , a devastating earthquake erupted in Sichuan . As the host country , China wanted to remember this tragic event by having Yao Ming , a Chinese basketball legend , walk hand-in-hand with Lin Hao , a nine-year-old boy who saved some of his classmates during the earthquake
a devastating earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake
Olympic Games ceremony