Paris Olympic Committee Wrongly Installs Flag and National Anthem

Paris, Todaysgist.com – The Paris 2024 Olympic organizing committee made mistakes by playing the South Sudanese national anthem incorrectly during a basketball match, and by flying the Argentine flag incorrectly during a swimming event.

On the evening of July 28, 2025, the South Sudanese basketball team defeated Puerto Rico 90-79, in Group C. Before the victory, the organizers played the national anthem of neighboring Sudan incorrectly and immediately apologized for the mistake.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan following a referendum in 2011. However, disputes over borders, natural resources and political power continue to lead to armed clashes between the two countries.

The anthem was interrupted after 20 seconds. South Sudanese athletes were initially confused, and fans in the Pierre Mauroy gymnasium began to boo.

After they applauded watching the athletes bow their heads and place their hands on their left chests as they wait for the issue to be resolved. The Puerto Rican players did the same in a show of solidarity.

About three minutes later, the correct national anthem was played and received applause from the fans. At the end, the South Sudanese players hugged each other and entered the match.

“They played the wrong national anthem, but the players sang it right,” South Sudan’s American coach Royal Ivey told Associated Press.

“We all make mistakes sometimes. I will definitely give my opinion on this. But at the end of the day, all players are brothers,” he said.

Earlier, in the women’s 100m breaststroke semifinals, when Macarena Ceballos stepped out during the introduction, the electronic board behind her suddenly displayed the Chinese flag instead of Argentina. Ceballos looked back and smiled, even though there were no Chinese athletes participating in the competition.

Video footage of the blunder quickly spread across the internet, angering Argentines. “It’s a shame how they treat Argentine players at the 2024 Olympics,” commented a netizen on account X.

In response to the two incidents, the Paris 2024 Olympic organizing committee apologized for the incidents that occurred at the opening ceremony on July 26. First, the MC announced the name of the Korean sports team as North Korea. After that, the organizers continued to apologize when several performances at the opening ceremony were accused of insulting religion and going beyond moral boundaries, causing a wave of harsh criticism.