WE'RE STARTING
This is the end of Day 0 of the 2020 Olympics. Please join me as we kick off the live blog for Day 1.
To mark the occasion, check out the US gymnasts’ very own opening ceremony.
Had to do our own private USA Opening Ceremony!🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4DFaAcWXUD
— Lisa Spini (@SpiniLisa) July 23, 2021
The new live blog is here ...
Can any cyclist stand up to the Dutch women’s machine?
Lizzie Diegnan plans to give it a go at least one more time:
Christine Brennan, my colleague when I was at USA! USA! USA Today and one of the most distinguished voices on Olympic sports, is not at all happy about the century of unvaccinated US athletes:
Nearly 100 U.S. athletes in Tokyo are unvaccinated. What a selfish act with their USA teammates and others all around them. This and more in a few minutes on @CNNSitRoom. (And yes, I was awake a couple of hours ago in the stadium.) https://t.co/lC9bjayuYA
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) July 23, 2021
What’s the next Olympic sport?
There’s a push to get Ultimate (no longer called Ultimate Frisbee because a Frisbee would be quite ineffective in today’s Ultimate) into the Olympics. The World Flying Disc Federation is indeed IOC-approved.
You may be confused how skateboarding & surfing got into the Tokyo Olympics.
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) July 21, 2021
And in 2024, they're adding... breakdancing.
So in today's episode, we explained that process—with help from the man whose life goal is to get Ultimate Frisbee into the Olympics.https://t.co/PDL9PBoDBt
Ultimate already has a mixed event, which ought to appeal to the IOC.
There is a gender-equity dispute in professional Ultimate, which resumed this year.
So, in my remaining hour in this chair (sofa), please tell me ...
What sport would YOU like to see in the Olympics?
Sha’Carri Richardson’s shadow will loom over these Olympics after the sprinter, poised to be the breakout star of the Games with her flamboyant fashion sense and earth-shaking speed, was suspended and left off the US team after a positive test for THC, not known as a performance-enhancing drug unless you play 30-minute guitar solos.
She’s currently trending on Twitter, in large part due to a coincidental story about Megan Rapinoe and other athletes hawking a CBD product.
I'm sure Sha'carri Richardson can't wait to hear about this...
— Will Mountford (@WillMountford) July 23, 2021
Yes, Richardson knew the rules, and yes, there’s some sort of difference between THC and CBD that is beyond my understanding of pharmaceuticals (the closest I’ve come to being affected by either substance was when I saw Pink Floyd indoors in North Carolina), but people on Twitter are not pleased. Not that people on Twitter generally are.
Richardson has landed on her very fast feet, though, hawking Beats by Dre with Kanye West in an ad in which the only thing that ought to be banned is AutoTune.
The heat and humidity took their toll on Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva during her qualifying round Friday. She collapsed as she finished the event, which sorts out who faces whom when the Big Dance starts.
Quick reminder: Russian athletes are competing as “Russian Olympic Committee” or “ROC” while the country continues its feud with the World Anti-Doping Agency No word yet on whether they’ll adopt the Twisted Sister tune “I Wanna Rock” as their anthem
Temperatures in Tokyo have been around 33 degrees Celsius, which converted to temperatures in the Washington metro area would be “meh.”
Weather is expected to remain warm-ish, though more concern may be raised about the threat of a typhoon.
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Athletes in, athletes out ...
Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine has withdrawn from the Olympics due to the possibility that he could face Israeli athlete Tohar Butbul early in the draw. He did the same thing in 2019. The International Judo Federation suspended Iran from competition for four years for similar infractions, and there are indeed no Iranian judokas competing in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, the small contingent from Guinea will compete after all despite some concern about COVID-19. One would think the easiest way to avoid being infected in Tokyo, where the caseload still compares pretty favorably with other world metropolises, is to not go out in Tokyo.
Not sure which is more impressive here ... the surfer or the photographer.
Two-time @wsl world champ @TeamUSA #Olympic surfer @johnjohnflorenc finding form in 🇯🇵🌊 pic.twitter.com/pw2sDiVVmh
— USA Surfing (@usasurfteam) July 23, 2021
Elsewhere in the sports world ...
Harry Kane isn’t leaving Spurs. Or so the Tottenham directors say.
Football Manager is adding women, and the programmers claim to be so realistic that they’ll address issues such as the menstrual cycle.
And the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians will become the Cleveland Guardians. Perhaps it’s not my place as a simple freelancer to say so, but I hope my colleagues here are all flattered that a team would be named after us. They’re a baseball team, so they will not be playing the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.
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Thank you Tom, and unlike so many relay runners of the past, I pledge not to drop the baton.
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, and that would be where I am, on the East Coast of the United States in a secure bunker. (Also known as my basement, where I will spend the next 16 days trying not to wake anyone else.)
But more importantly, it’s 6 a.m. in Tokyo, and athletes are waking up in the Village thinking the same thing: “What do you mean, you didn’t get vaccinated?”
Say hello to me by email, on Twitter @duresport, or just yell.
And as dawn beckons in Japan I’ll hand you over to Beau Dure, who’ll take you through to the beginning of the actual action. Enjoy.
A piece on the 17-year-old US swimming prodigy Claire Curzan, who competes in the 100m butterfly tomorrow, and her journey from an outdoor community pool in Cary, North Carolina to the biggest stage of all:
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One of tomorrow’s more anticipated events for British viewers is Team GB women’s footballers’ second group match, against Japan in Saporro. There’ll be no home crowd roaring on their opponents but it’ll still be a stern test. Going into the match, Suzanne Wrack talked to Keira Walsh about dealing with criticism, working with psychologists and life under Hege Riise’s management.
Twenty for 2020 (+1): Nick Ames has picked 20 Olympians to watch, from established stars such as Simone Biles, Ashleigh Barty and Katie Ledecky to the Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus and the American teenage BMX rider Hannah Roberts.
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Here’s another reminder of what’s coming up early on Saturday, day one of the Olympics:
The first gold medal will be awarded in the women’s 10m air rifle, which will conclude around 3am BST (11am Tokyo time).
Andy Murray gets up off the canvas once again to begin another Olympic medal quest in the men’s doubles alongside Joe Salisbury (3am BST).
The Games’ youngest competitor, 12-year-old Hend Zaza of Syria, competes in table tennis (1.45am BST).
The men’s hockey tournament kicks off with Australia v Japan (1.45am BST), the 2016 winners Argentina v Spain (4.15am BST) and GB v South Africa (10.30am BST) among others. There are also opening games in 3x3 basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball and handball.
You can see all the start times for wherever you are in our interactive schedule.
Anna Burnet, niece of the great New Zealand yachtsman Peter Blake, and John Gimson will compete for Team GB in the mixed Nacra in Tokyo, confident in adding to an illustrious British sailing record at the Games. Ewan Murray has more:
The US fencer Alen Hadzic is to be kept apart from team in Tokyo after sexual misconduct claims. Team USA’s men’s épée alternate lost his appeal to move into the Olympic Village, according to a report from USA Today. Here’s our story:
Thanks Niall. And let’s have a cultural angle on today’s unique opening ceremony, from the Guardian’s chief theatre critic Arifa Akbar:
No Mexican waves, hugging athletes or self-indulgent shows of exhibitionism. Tokyo stayed in keeping with the global mood and showed us that less really can be more.
Time for me to hand over to Tom Davies, who will guide you through the next couple of hours. Thanks for joining me, and wherever you’re watching, enjoy the sport.
Reminder: you can sign up for the Tokyo 2020 daily briefing email here, to get a dose of Olympic news, comment and other entertainment at 5pm (BST) every day of the Games.
After winning four gold medals in Rio, Simone Biles is expected to light up another Olympics in Tokyo – particularly with a boundary-breaking new move, the Yurchenko double pike, in her repertoire. Read more on how she does it, and why gymnastics should do more to encourage her kind of innovation:
Team GB came second in the Rio medals table but are taking a more measured approach to the Olympics this time – and it’s a welcome change, writes Sean Ingle.
One for your bookmarks: our Tokyo 2020 interactive daily schedule lets you see all the action, go sport-by-sport or focus on where medals will be won. You can also browse start lists, standings, results and the medal table. What are you waiting for?
It’s been barely three hours since Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron inside the main stadium, but it has already been relocated to its waterfront home throughout the Games.
Former badminton player Ayaka Takahashi did the honours next to the Yume no Ohashi bridge. The public are being urged to keep their distance, but it at least offers a chance to glimpse the Olympic flame with most events closed to the public.
The Guardian’s Tokyo correspondent, Justin McCurry, offers a local view of the opening ceremony:
The light applause that greeted the end of each act and the constant buzz of police helicopters were not quite enough to drown out the distant shouts of protesters who had gathered at sunset to repeat their calls for the Games to be called off. But most of the people lining the streets outside the stadium were not there to object, but simply to watch and listen, to be present at the start of the most controversial Olympic Games in living memory.
Sean Ingle reports from the Olympic Stadium, where the opening ceremony moved from solemn to spectacular despite a lack of spectators:
Here is Barney Ronay on Covid-19, Tokyo 2020 and sport’s greatest show going on:
There has been an urge to compare these Games to previous imperilled versions, from the make-do-and-mend of 1920 to the horrors of Mexico, and more hopefully the austerity games of 1948, when the torch came down the Thames in a rowing boat and everyone just got on with it. But this isn’t really like that, because it isn’t really like anything.
Britain’s Adam Peaty is going for gold in the 100m breaststroke with the final on Monday. Peaty has won this event at Rio 2016 and the last three world Championships. He has also broken the world record five times in five years and holds the 17 fastest event times in history. Andy Bull has more:
Here is Martin Belam’s first Daily Briefing from the Tokyo Games, and a very enjoyable read it is too. Martin will be putting one of these together every day of the Olympics, and quite possibly not sleeping at all until 8 August as a result. Give it a look:
In women’s football, Team GB face Japan in Sapporo (11.30am BST) having won their opening group match against Chile. Hege Riise’s team is dominated by England players but Scotland’s Kim Little and Caroline Weir have built a formidable midfield partnership, as Suzanne Wrack explains:
Naomi Osaka has said lighting the Olympic torch in Tokyo is “undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life,” in a post on Instagram that has racked up more than 200,000 likes in 45 minutes.
What’s coming up early on Day 1 in Tokyo, I hear you ask. Here are some highlights. All times are BST; Tokyo is nine hours ahead but you can see start times for wherever you are in our interactive schedule.
The Games’ youngest competitor, 12-year-old Hend Zaza of Syria, competes in table tennis (1.45am BST). Elsewhere, Andy Murray begins his quest for another Olympic gold in the men’s doubles tennis alongside Joe Salisbury (3am BST).
The first gold medal of the games will be awarded in the women’s 10m air rifle, with medals also up for grabs in archery, fencing, judo, taekwondo, weightlifting and the men’s cycling road race, which begins at 3am BST.
The men’s hockey tournament kicks off with Australia v Japan (1.45am), 2016 winners Argentina v Spain (4.15am) and GB v South Africa (10.30am) among others. There are also opening games in 3x3 basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball and handball.
One of the hottest topics in the lead-up to Tokyo has been Rule 50, and specifically changes that restrict athletes’ right to protest at the Olympics. While the IOC has partially back-tracked, as it stands athletes are not allowed to protest on the medal podium.
As the Games begin, a group of more than 150 athletes and academics have called for change. They include John Carlos and Tommie Smith, whose 1968 podium protest remains one of the Olympics’ most enduring images.
The opening ceremony was a sombre, sparse affair in places but there was still space for video game music, Armani tracksuits and drones, drones, drones. Martin Belam rounds up the key moments:
She may not be a household name, but Oksana Chusovitina is part of Olympic history. The Uzbek gymnast is about to compete in her eighth Olympic Games, having first taken part in Barcelona 1992.
In case you missed it, here are some of the best images from what was an understated but quietly impressive opening ceremony.
If you want to keep up-to-date with all the latest news and action from Tokyo, why not sign up for our Daily Briefing email? The next one goes out at 5pm BST, so in about 20 minutes. Sign up right here:
Meanwhile, Barney Ronay takes a look at Team GB and how the relentless pursuit of gold has left grass roots sport behind:
“The gold medal culture needs reforming: the fetishising of gold, the enthroning of the gold medal as the key measure of all sporting value, a driver of policy, resources and who ultimately gets to play.”
Get up to speed with all the big Tokyo 2020 questions with Simon Burnton’s Olympic primer:
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Some cycling news: the men’s road race takes place at 3am BST, 11am local time on Saturday, but one man who won’t be at the start line is Simon Geschke, after the German rider tested positive for Covid-19.
Geschke, who was set to be part of a four-man German team, had been staying away from the Olympic village with a group of other cyclists, all of who have initially tested negative for Covid.
“More than disappointed to miss the Olympics tomorrow but also glad everyone else tested negative,” Geschke wrote on Twitter. “It’s a dark day in my career, but i will be back soon later this year hopefully.”
Thanks Barry, and a shout to your good self for a marathon live-blogging effort. So, what happens now? It’s ten past midnight in Tokyo and officially Day 1 of the Games – we’ll keep you updated with news and global reaction to the opening ceremony, plus what to look out for in the first few days.
Sayōnara. And after all that excitement, it’s time for me to sayt goodbye and take a long lie-down in the darkened room. But while I might pause for some respite, the Guardian’s Olympic blog will do no such thing. Niall McVeigh is next up in the hot-seat.
Before I go, a massive shout-out to my colleague Steven Bloor, who did so much to bring what would have been an otherwise very dreary rolling report to life with all the beautiful photographs from the opening ceremopny that have been added for your viewing pleasure.
There endeth the opening ceremony: Low on bombast but high on a combination of quiet dignity and mawkish schmalz, our opening ceremony closes. It was a very respectful ceremony; one that understandably palled in comparison to previous versions.
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Naomi Osaka lights the cauldron
Mount Fuji: Tennis champion Naomi Osaka takes the torch from our team of kids and jogs up the steps to the summit of the temporary Mount Fuji that’s been erected in the stadium. Following her recent travails and admissions of mental frailty, who better than her to do the honours? And to be clear, no ... it’s you who is crying. Naomi Osaka lights the cauldron, built in the shape of a flower with its petals open. Let the Games begin!
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Slowly but surely. We’re getting there. The flame makes its way across the stadium, a doctor and nurse taking temporary possession. They’re loving it! They positively bound towards a seven-times Japanese Paralympian, waving enthusiastically to all present. She hands over to a team of schoolkids.
Our medics are, I’m told by reader Emmling, “from the areas most affected by the 3-11 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown ten years ago”.
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Another montage: This time it’s of the Olympic torch relay. It’s been a longer one than we’re used too. The montage over, the Olympic flame emerges from the bowels of the studio carried by two Japanese athletes: former wrestler Saori Yoshida and judo player Tadahiro Nomura. They pass it on to a selection of other retired Japanese sporting legends with Ravel’s Bolero as the soundtrack.
Attention returns to the infield area of the stadium. To lively piano accompaniment, a cartoonish Japanese super hero sporting what looks like a Samurai sword on his waist appears. Where is he going? Where is this going?
It’s time to light the lights: A Japanese comedian whose name I must confess escaped me is shown messing about in the control room with a former figure skater as he switches on lights in various Olympic venues around the city and country. It’s a good montage and now ... there’s just one light left to go.
Dan speaks the truth: And I’d like to think I deserve at least a bronze. They only have to talk over pictures thewir BBC audience can see ... and can just say nothing during some of the more bewildering performances of interpretative dance.
Give Hazel Irvine & Andrew Cotter a pair of gold medals for the last few hours 🥇🥇
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) July 23, 2021
Brilliant coverage of the #OpeningCeremony of the #Olympics
Time for another montage: Because there’s always time for another montage, right? This time it’s a series of 50 pictograms coming to life to represent each of the different Olympic sports. I won’t lie, it’s difficult to explain, even by the standards of opening ceremonies but there are now two performers dressed as blue and white stickpeople out there having an absolute whale of a time going through their various carefully choreographed motions.
Today’s #FontSunday @DesignMuseum theme: pictograms.
— Sarah (@Barkle_Sarah) November 15, 2020
See the difference 56 years makes to #Olympic designs: Tokyo 1964 and Tokyo 2020 #Japan
Nice read from @CreativeReview about the 2020 pictograms here: https://t.co/3a5x3j8g5l
1/ pic.twitter.com/nokDSqeNWf
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The release of doves: Thousands of paper doves are released from on high. Doves from above, if you will. A niche gag for Vic & Bob fans there.
The Olympic flag: To orchestral accompaniment (those musicians must be exhausted by now!) assorted members of Japan’s defence forces receive the flag and march up some steps, where they hoist it on a pole next to that flying the colours of Japan. Cue: the Olympic anthem.
Thomas Bach: “The pandemic forced us apart, to keep our distance from each other. To stasy away even from our loved ones. This separation made this tunnel so dark. But today, wherever in the world you may be we’re united in sharing this moment together. The Olympic flame makes this light shine brighter for all of us.”
He goes on to invite Emperor Naruhito to declare the Games open. The emperor duly obliges and the Olympic flag with its five rings is brought into the stadium. It’s carried by an athglete from each of the five continents represented by the rings, along with a member of the Refugee Olympic team.
Although ... it does look worryingly like the Death Star.
That's no moon…it's a #Tokyo2020 drone display! 😲#Olympics | #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/bIGD4UonPO
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021
The undisputed highlight of the opening ceremony: As Bach drones on, let’s give it up for some more impressive and interesting droning.
🚨 Drone appreciation post! 🚨
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 23, 2021
1,824 drones light up the sky above the Olympic Stadium as the #Tokyo2020 emblem seamlessly becomes a revolving globe. 😍🌏#StrongerTogether #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/mcGteqdJ7n
Thomas Bach: The IOC chief continues, thanking the Games’ sponsors, many of whom have bent over backwards to distance themselves from the very ceremony he is addressing. Talk turns to solidarity ...
Thomas Bach: The IOC boss greets the assembled dignataries and Olympic friends before welcoming to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. “Today is a moment of hope,” he begins. “Yes it is very different but let us cherish this moment. We are all here together.”
Seiko Hashimoto: Still at the podium, with IOC chief Thomas Bach to follow, Seiko is a Japanese politician, former speed skater and track cyclist.
A speech: Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games gives a speech. What a stressful time she must have had in recent years. Peace, love, understanding and the difficulties of staging the games at this difficult time all get a mention. She thanks the athletes for turning up to participate and wishes them all the best.
Hang on! That’s John Legend. And his performance? Well, suffice to say, it’s not the first time John Lennon has been murdered. His memory deserves better than this hammery.
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This is impressive: Impressive and a little mawkish. The drones above the stadium form a globe while the kids below begin a rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine. They’re joined on the big screen by assorted more senior singers from around the globe who I should probably recognise but don’t.
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“Hang on, wackiness!” observes the BBC’s Andrew Cotter as some cartoonish thespians play out some sort of “skit” ahead of a performance entitled “unity and diversity” performed by some kids. I don’t know about Andrew and Hazel but I have no idea what is going on. I’ll wait for them to let me know. Ah, they’re forming the Tokyo 2020 chequered emblem with giant building blocks. Above the stadium in the night sky, 1,800 illuminated drones replicate the design. That’s some seriously impressive formation flying right there.
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The Olympic oath: Five Japanese athletes from assorted sports read the Olympic oath before the Olympic flag is hoisted next to it’s Japanese counterpart. Cue: another cheesy montage ...
The Olympic motto: There’s a late addition to the Olympic motto which illuminates the floor in the middle of the arena. It reads: “Faster, higher, stronger, together” and is accompamnied by more pyrotechnics.
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Japan: The hosts arrive in their hundreds with Yui Susaki (wrestling) and Rui Hachimura (basketball) given the huge honour of bearing the host nation’s flag at their home games. That’s yer lot as far as the parade is concerned. The last of the formalities are upon us, including - one presumes – more speechifying and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
The Americans are here! Led by Sue Bird (basketball) and Eddy Alvarez (baseball), the USA march out mob-handed. They’re followed by France and finally ...
The orchestral medley: Reader Tom has been busy trying to identify the Japanese video game theme tunes that are soundtracking the parade and he has done a cracking job. “A translation of most of the song list from the article listed earlier,” he says. “Missing ones I couldn’t find the English name for.”
- Dragon Quest - Prologue: Roto’s theme
- Final Fantasy - Victory fanfare
- Monster Hunter - Proof of a heroKingdom Hearts - Olympus Coliseum
- Chrono Trigger - Frog theme
- Ace Combat - First Flight
- Monster Hunter - Wind of departure
- Chrono Trigger - Robo’s theme
- Sonic the hedgehog - Star light zone
- Final fantasy - Main theme
- Fantasy star universe - Guardians
- Kingdom hearts - Hero’s fanfare
- Nier - song of the ancients
- Soul calibur - The brave new stage of history
Jordan: We’re into the 190s now, with the end mercifully nigh. They’re followed by Laos and Latvia. Tennis player Jelena Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, and basketball player Agnis Cavars carry the flag for them.
Portugal: Their flag-bearers Telma Monteiro and Nelson Évora dance out excitedly, with Evora looking like he’s trying to wrestle the pole from his team-mate. Next out are Hong Kong, who boast a swimmer with the decidedly Irish name of Siobhan Bernadette Haughey. Her father is Irish and according to Wikipedia, she is a grand-niece of the former Irish prime minister Charles Haughey. He was famojusly fond of the water too and owned his own yacht called Celtic Mist.
Poland: Their athletes walk out, minus the six swimmers their team bosses had to send home earlier this week because they picked too many by mistake. No, really.
On we go: There are no end of endurance events in the Olympics and the opening ceremony parade is arguably the most gruelling of them all. The team of local greeters welcoming each delegation out on to the infield must be exhausted at this stage but their enthusiasm remains undimmed. Many of the athletes are having a well-earned lie-down in the evening heat. Vietnam are the latest to arrive, they’re 157th out of 206.
Vanuatu: Rower Rillo Rii leads out the three-strong Vanuatu team and with a physique like his it’s no surprise he’s elected to go topless with a slathering of oil too. The man is an adonis and was in action out on the water earlier today, so it may be sweat, rather than oil.
More on the Japanese alphabet: “Just wanted to add a slight correction to Hazel’s email,” writes Tom. “While the UK is usually referred to as Igirisu, they walked out in this ceremony under the name ‘Eikoku’, which is a more formal and older name for the UK mostly only used in newspapers today. This is why they were next to countries beginning with E.”
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Tonga: Brisbane born Taekwondo fighter Pita Taufatofua has had his toned torso oiled up to within an inch of his life as he walks out in traditional Tongan dress. He’s sporting what I believe they call a tupenu, a kind of sarong.
He's here! 👀 Pita Taufatofua#Tokyo2020 | #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/cxnjBs71EJ
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021
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Turkmenistan: Wearing green shirts and white trousers, the athletes of Turkmenistan walk out. With a population of five million people, they have yet to win an Olympic medal.
China: One of the larger teams march out in to the arena and I can reveal they are 109th out of 206. Volleyball player Zhu Ting and taekwondo fighter Zhao Shuai bear their flag with pride.
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The teams continue to come out thick and fast. And thank you to reader Mikako Onozaka, who emailed a minute ago to say she reckons we’re just past halfway. Halfway?!?!?!
“Rwanda, Lesotho and Lebanon will be the last to come out in alphabetical order, followed by the US, France, and Japan,” he tells me. And if, like me, you are ashamed of your geographical ignorance - from Wikipedia: “Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges including the 3,482m-high peak of Thabana Ntlenyana.”
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Jamaica: Sprinting legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and boxer Ricardo Brown lead out Team Jamaica. Such is the disparity in their heights, the diminutive Fraser-Pryce leaves the flag-bearing duties to the giant Brown, electing instead to link the crook of his arm.
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Nice to see the athletes parade; but the Opening ceremony definitely had the theme “We are not into this”; or possibly “Will This Do?”
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) July 23, 2021
An email: “My wife and I have only recognised a few tunes (most notably Sonic, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts) but the Japanese media has reported on the game list here,” writes Sophie. Google might throw up a few interesting translations.
Every day’s a schoolday: “I don’t know if anyone has already emailed in about this, but as Japanese doesn’t have an ‘alphabet’ as such, it looks like they’re using the order for the hiragana/katakana syllabary, which they use to spell syllabically all the countries,” writes Hazel.
“This means we start with the vowels (a, i, u, e, o) and then the consonants followed by the vowels in that order (k/g, s/z, t/d, n, h/b/p, m, y, r, w). Any countries which have a Japanese name (including the UK, ‘Igirisu’) will fit in at the relevant place, presumably. Any scholars of Japanese feel free to correct me! Hope this helps.”
And if any scholars of Japaenese could let me know if we’re getting anywhere near the end of this parade, that would also help – I need to limit what passes for my material accordingly. Kosovo are the latest to march out on to the infield.
Australia: “Sixty-three Australian athletes have marched out into the Olympic Stadium, led by flag bearers Patty Mills and Cate Campbell,” writes Kieran Pender, who is there to see them. “Mills, an Australian of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, is the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag at an Olympic Games. It is a symbolic moment for the country, which has a sad history of discriminating against its Indigenous population.”
An email: With regard to the arrival of the athletes being soundtracked by an orchestral medley of video games soundtracks, Karen Bridgen writes.
“My son and I are trying to play ‘Name That Game’,” she says. “The combination of orchestral music and people talking all over it is making it almost impossible. Someone needs to do a list ASAP.”
I’m afraid I’m no gamer and haven’t been for some decades, Karen. Unless the theme music of Bubble Bobble, Super Bomberjack, Tiger Woods Golf, Metro Cross or Gorf are played, I won’t get any of them.
Kazakhstan: The infield continues to fill up as the Kazakhstan delegation march out wearing turquoise trews with slightly darker blazers. Next up it’s Qatar.
Opening ceremony gallery ...
Due to the herculean efforts of those on our picture desk, you are now invited to look at what actually happened during the opening ceremony and laugh at how little relation it bears to what I described happening in this all-singing, all-dancing gallery.
Team GB emerge: Sailor Hannah Mills and rower Mohamed Sbihi lead out the British delegation. Just 22 of their army are present in the stadium tonight. They’re all looking quite smart in navy blazers with striped sleeves over white shirts, with greyish whitish trousers. Then again, they may be ludicrously untrendy - I have no sense of style. Social media will judge them and possibly judge them harshly.
Uganda: Out they come dressed wonderfully in red and gold.
“The mention of rowing earlier reminds me of one of my favorite stories of this Olympics so far,” writes Kari Tulinus. “Rower Kathleen Noble, who was born in Uganda to Irish missionaries and grew up there, is representing the country of her birth at these Olympics. She didn’t qualify directly for the single sculls quarter-finals this morning, but did well enough to earn a second try in the repechage, setting a national record in the process.”
Team GB: They’re due out 28th and we’re getting through the various countries at an uncharacteristically fast and merciful clip.
The order: With the exception of Greece, who traditionally march out first, the nations are being introduced in the order of the Japanese alphabet ... which I don’t know. Anyway, whatever the order, Italy are the latest to emerge and are giving Argentina a run for their money in the skittishness stakes. The more sombre and considerably smaller Iraqi delegation, comprised of five people, follow them.
Some reader feedback: As the teams continue to pour out into the arena with commendable speed, it’s time to dip into the mailbag ...
“One of the (few) benefits of interpretive dance is that it shouldn’t need to be interpreted,” writes Simon. “Doesn’t seem to have stopped the BBC commentary team from trying though. I wish they’d bloody shut up and let me enjoy the music and stuff.”
Ireland are out: The Irish delegation walk out, a vision in ... you’ve guessed it, green. Boxers Kellie Harrington and Brendan Irvine wave the the tricolour proudly, their wide grins of delight all too apparent despite being covered by masks.
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The athletes are in the wings: Well, those few that are attending the opening ceremony are. To an orchestral medley of assorted Japanese video game themes (Dragon Quest is first), Greece march out.
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Half an hour in and this opening ceremony feels like it's been running since 2020.
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) July 23, 2021
That silence. You could hear a pin drop. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/jxXrjcnYXV
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) July 23, 2021
Every time there is a lull in the music at the Opening Ceremony, the noise from the demonstration against the Games happening outside becomes clearly audible.
— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) July 23, 2021
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Rhythm is a dancer: Kazunori Kumagai, the Japanese Michael Flatley (except without the bouffant), does some solo tap before being re-joined by his fellow carpenters. Five giant wooden Olympic rings, hewn from the wood of pine and spruce trees planted to mark the 1964 Olympics and illuminated by paper lanterns are wheeled out in to the stadium.
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The rhythms of tradition: The Japanese work song Komari Uttar is sung by a team of uniformed and hard-grafting carpenters (well, dancers pretending to be carpenters) on a series of wooden platforms that have been wheeled centre-stage.
A hugely downbeat ceremony so far: Solemnity, gloom and darkness seem to be the prevailing colours, themes and colours of this particular curtain-raiser, in stark contrast to the massive celebratory vibes of opening ceremonies passim.
A moment of reflection: There’s a pause for those who are no longer with us, particularly those who died due to the Coivd virus. Here’s hoping the staging of these Games doesn’t add too significantly to the global tally.
The Japanese flag🇯🇵 has entered the Olympic stadium 🏟️ at the #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony#UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/WjcL2zeX8U
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021
The National Anthem: Various members of Japan’s defence forces bring the flag to the pole, where it will be solemnly raised to the soundtrack of the national anthem, Kimi Ga Yo.
Bah humbug corner. Barney is such a cynic ...
Tokyo is not "sending a message of resilience and hope". It's sending a message of massive contracts signed and political capital staked, making the best of an obligation. Deeply phoney to pretend otherwise
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) July 23, 2021
Some VIPS: Japanese Emperor Naruhito and IOC president Thomas Bach share a greeting which is followed by the introduction of the Japanese flag to the arena. It is carried by an assortment of Japanese Olympic greats of yore.
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Some dancing: As I struggle to find words to adequately describe the beautiful, poised and elegant low key choreography of the dance troupe currently performing in the arena, Hazel comes up trumps. “Quiet, intimate and empathetic,” she says, possibly reading from notes.
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BBC: The BBC coverage is being helmed by Hazel Irvine and Andrew Cotter, with Irvine in the role of straightman. Having become famous during lockdown as the straightman to his two adorable labradors Olive and Mabel, Cotter is revelling in his role as gagsman on this commentary.
Early fireworks: The countdown ends with a pyrotechnics display, the outer rim of the stadium exploding in a shower of multi-coloured sparks. On the stadium floor, assorted “athletes” train in solitude, pedalling stationary bikes. The lights on the floor portray - reporter checks non-existent notes – the changing of the seasons.
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An early nod to Covid: Well that didn’t take long and it’s no surprise. The elephant in the room is addressed as we briefly fade to inky black before seeing a montage of athletes who were forced into training in isolation ... before the countdown to Tokyo began again.
The ceremony begins ...
We begin with an orchestral performance soundtracking a motif of a seed germinating followed by a montage of athletes preparing for a Games that has been eight years in the making ...
Not long now ...
We are mere moments away from the beginning of the opening ceremony for Tokyo 2020 ...
Tokyo 1964: My colleague Dave Tindall has alerted me to this footage of the Tokyo 1964 opening ceremony. “The Americans were quite the sight in their stetsons,” he says. See 16:52 onwards.
Rowing: “Morning, any chance of a summary of the rowing heats from this morning?” asks Rae. We’ll have a summary along at some point, Rae - but in the meantime you can find the early rowing heats results and schedules for other sports here.
The opening ceremony: A British delegation of just 22, including flag bearers Hannah Mills and Mohamed Sbihi, will march at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics, according to PA Sport.
Athletes from canoe slalom, fencing, weightlifting, sailing, boxing, rowing and trampolining will feature in the curtain-raiser.
A ring of steel has been erected around the stadium, meaning the excited locals, who had been due to be a part of the ceremony until the decision to ban spectators from the Games was made earlier this month, were left to watch those lucky enough to be allowed in from behind fences.
Think I've heard more pious fluff in the opening two minutes of the BBC olympic coverage than in my entire existence to that point. It's definitely close anyway
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) July 23, 2021
This just in: “The British Olympic Association is resigned to the fact that six Team GB athletes will spend 14 days in enforced quarantine after failing in its attempts to spring them out,” writes Sean Ingle.
Shooting: Of course, actual shooting is an Olympic sport and in 25-year-old Seonaid McIntosh, Team GB have a potential winner of the very first gold of the games tomorrow morning. Greg Wood caught up with the 25-year-old to ... em, shoot the breeze.
Your questions: With less than an hour to go until the opening ceremony of Tokyo 2020, you may well have some Games-related questions that need to be answered. Fear not, while troubleshooting is not yet an Olympic sport, if it was Simon Burnton would almost certainly win gold ...
The Guardian's Tokyo 2020 Daily Briefing
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Another email: “The answer to Niall O’Keefe’s email is: NBC,” writes Andrew from Tokyo.
The weather: For anyone who might be interested, it’s currently 29 degrees celsius with humidity at 65% in Tokyo, where the local time is 6pm ... writes reporter from South London bunker.
An email: “I lived in Tokyo for three years and I also visited for the 2002 World Cup,” writes Niall O’Keefe. “Due to the humidity, most games were after 17:00 local time. The 1988 All about Seoul Olympics were also held in September to avoid the brutal heat. For God’s sake, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in October given the milder weather then. So what clown - has to be an IOC minion - pushed for the hottest time of the year for 2020?”
Swimming: “The nine-day Olympic swimming schedule, which kicks off with the first heats on Saturday evening, is set to be dominated by the rivalry between swimming powerhouses Australia and the United States,” writes Kieran Pender in Tokyo.
The opening ceremony: “An unusual amount of uncertainty hangs over the entire enterprise,” writes Simon Burnton. “Many ceremonies have been touted as genuinely innovative before following a familiar pattern, but the kind of intensively-rehearsed, bewilderingly-synchronised mass choreography they have traditionally relied on is precisely the kind of thing the Covid pandemic has made particularly difficult to arrange, which added to the event’s uniquely problematic gestation might leave them with no choice but to actually try something completely different.”
This is as close as the public can get to tonight’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics amid a 4th state of emergency.
— Dan Roan (@danroan) July 23, 2021
Attendees at the National Stadium restricted to less than a thousand VIPs; the Emperor of Japan & the US First Lady among them pic.twitter.com/FfqlEgaxPz
Kieran Pender reports from the Olympic Stadium: “The press contingent is growing at the Olympic Stadium with two hours until the main event. Us scribes and photographers - plus Tokyo 2020 officials - are the only ones lucky enough to be watching this spectacle live.
“It feels rather surreal to be in a cavernous stadium, ahead of a grand event, with an audience numbering in the low thousands. Not that the media are too happy about our privilege; the wifi is down and there is much grumbling (this dispatch coming to you from my phone’s hotspot). Interesting times ahead, wifi or not.”
Ah here. Won’t somebody think of the journalists? With sportswriters complaining about the lack of in-stadium wifi – is it too early to suggest nature might be healing?
Team USA. “As restraints on freedom of movement for participants during these pandemic Olympics generate headlines,” writes Tom Dart in Tokyo. “Limits on freedom of expression will also be under scrutiny as athletes speak out, with some likely to test the boundaries of what organisers will tolerate by making their points on the podium.”
Athletics: “Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s fight for heptathlon gold with the defending champion, Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, was expected to be one of the battles of the Games, but she is again facing uncertainty after being struck by an achilles injury at the end of last year,” writes Alexandra Topping.
Thank you Emma. And kon’nichiwa to all our readers, wherever in the wide world of sport you might be. So, who else is feeling very Olympic today? With less than two hours to go until what promises to be an uncharacteristically low key opening ceremony, here’s a taste of what to expect.
“It will be a much more sobering ceremony, nevertheless with beautiful Japanese aesthetics,” said Marco Balich, an adviser to the executive producer for Tokyo. “Very Japanese but also in sync with the sentiment of today, the reality. We have to do our best to complete this unique and hopefully the only one of its kind Olympics.”
Over to you Justin McCurry ...
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Interesting that this is part of the Olympic Twitter account’s selected content, given Usain Bolt’s 100m world record could very well fall at these Games if the hype around the super spikes comes to be realised on the athletics track.
It all starts today! 😱
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 23, 2021
Here is our most viewed video of the past year while we wait for the Opening Ceremony!
Usain Bolt's 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 100m Olympic record. ⚡pic.twitter.com/s24P98aOjv
Bolt had a crack this week at the fact said spikes are allowed, calling it “weird and unfair”. Sean Ingle also interviewed him last month about it.
And Ben Ryan tackles the issue of advancements in sport technology in more depth today.
With that, I’ll hand you over to Barry Glendenning, who will lead you through the opening ceremony and beyond.
Updated
I have half-waded into some of the many questions around these Games, both on and off the field of play, but turns out I needn’t have bothered because Simon Burnton has written a far more succinct snapshot of everything you could possibly need to know. Behold.
We’ve already covered who won’t be at the opening ceremony, but I’ll tell you who will be there: Jill Biden. Joe Biden’s wife is on her first solo international trip as US first lady, arriving in Tokyo on Thursday for a whirlwind 48-hour trip full of official duties which include a virtual “get-together” with members of Team USA and hosting a US v Mexico softball watch party.
And Australians, if you’ve been languishing under a lockdown fog for the past 24 hours, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will join Biden at the event. She was ordered to, by John Coates. It got kinda awkward.
The 11th-hour postponement of Naomi Osaka’s opening singles match from Saturday to Sunday has caused a flurry of speculation on social media about whether Japan’s four-time major singles champion is set for a big role in the opening ceremony.
Afrer a tough year, the host nation’s highest-profile athlete and the world’s highest-earning female athlete returns to competition in Tokyo. The identity of the final torchbearer is always the Games’ most closely held secret, yet speculation has swirled for months around baseball players Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani.
The suspicious element of Osaka’s rescheduled match against China’s Zheng Saisai is that Olympic organisers did not immediately provide a reason for the switch, only saying that the move came from the tournament referee.
Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reports several people have had their credentials revoked for violating the Games’ “playbook” of rules to contain Covid-19 cases. The Tokyo organising committee said it had invalidated each offender’s accreditation for a day, meaning they cannot enter an Olympic venue.
Organisers said it had given them several warnings but would not specify details of the apparent violations or their nationalities. They said they will patrol convenience stores around designated hotels more closely, and have also removed signs which were unclear because they may be interpreted as allowing those in roles related to the Olympics to leave their hotel for 15 minutes, even during isolation.
Speaking of surfing, one of our reporters in Tokyo, Tumaini Carayol, offers an insightful preview to whet the appetite.
There are some pretty – dare I say – rad photos coming through from Tsurigasaki beach, where surfers are training ahead of the sport’s Olympic debut from Sunday, pending surf conditions.
Japanese residents are reportedly a little worried about the prospect of a typhoon forming off the coast next week but the surfers, who had been concerned about “small and funky waves”, are welcoming the prospect of big ones. Surfline, which is providing forecasts for the Games, predicts rising tropical cyclone surf starting on Sunday and continuing through next week, with a prolonged run of medium-sized waves during the eight-day competition window.
“There’s going to be good waves, there’s a strong typhoon here off the coast of Japan and we know that the waves are getting bigger,” International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said.
Australian surfer Owen Wright posted on Instagram after a session: “It’s small but there is swell on the way! Let’s go.”
Some sport!
ICYMI, there is already competition under way, namely in the football, softball, archery, shooting and rowing. In the latter, the men’s single sculls heats have run today at the Sea Forest Waterway. Hot and blustery conditions are the order of the day down there, and ice packs and air conditioning are a permanent fixture at the sun-soaked course.
“In some respects, it’s really nice that the wind can be this strong and the water stays very row-able,” said Britain’s John Collins, 32, who advanced to Sunday’s double sculls semi-final after finishing fifth at Rio 2016. “I remember thinking back to Rio, a butterfly flapped its wings on one side of the lake and it was unrowable on the course. This is a bit of a relief in that respect.”
Britain’s attempt at topping the medal table for a fourth consecutive Olympics got off to a solid start as Rio double sculls silver medallist Victoria Thornley clinched her heat, advancing to the quarter-finals.
And Australia’s men’s quad scull secured their berth in the final after finishing a narrow second behind world champions the Netherlands to advance straight to the medal race scheduled for Tuesday.
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Update on Australia’s showjumping cocaine case. Australia’s showjumpers Edwina Tops-Alexander and Katie Laurie will be allowed to compete in the individual equestrian competition at Tokyo 2020, after their teammate Jamie Kermond was sent home after his anti-doping sample tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine. Kermond later released a statement saying he was “extremely upset and remorseful” and attributed the June positive test to “a single recreational use of the drug at a social event”.
On Friday morning, the Australian Olympic Committee announced that Olympic authorities would permit Tops-Alexander and Laurie to compete individually, despite Australia no longer having a complete team for the team discipline. Yesterday, the AOC told journalists at a press conference that it was too late for them to bring in a replacement to complete the team. The team had travelled to Japan without a reserve after Rowan Willis, Australia’s top-ranked showjumper, pulled out.
AOC chef de mission, Ian Chesterman, said in a statement: “We are thrilled with the outcome for our remaining two Jumping athletes, who have been anxiously awaiting confirmation regarding their participation at the Games. Laurie, who is making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, added: “Words cannot describe the feeling of hearing that Edwina and I could both go as individuals. It’s been a rollercoaster but we are ready and so excited to get to Tokyo.”
Updated
This is a good opening ceremony preview from Justin McCurry on the ground in Tokyo.
This will be an opening ceremony like no other. And I don’t necessarily mean in a wondrous sense. Peculiar is probably a more apt word. Sure, it was even unusual five years ago when then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe dressed up as Super Mario in Rio to introduce Tokyo as the next Olympics host city.
Now it is a whole new kind of bizarre. No crowd will be inside the New National Stadium to watch yet-to-be-revealed artistic performances. There will also be some other big names missing, including one Kentaro Kobayashi, the director of the whole show, who was sacked yesterday over a joke he made about the Holocaust in the late 1990s. Japanese composer Keigo Oyamada, whose music will be performed at the opening ceremony, also resigned this week after admitting bullying disabled classmates. And in March then creative director Hiroshi Sasaki resigned after suggesting in a meeting that a popular female entertainer should be lowered into the stadium dressed as a pig as part of a segment he called “Olympig”.
There will also be a reduced parade of nations and a strict limit on journalists in the stadium.
We do know some general things about the format, though. Traditionally, the ceremonies begin with the entry of the host country’s head of state, this year being Japanese Emperor Naruhito, then the athletes will parade before a symbolic release of doves. The Greek Olympic team will follow tradition and lead the parade, followed by every other country in alphabetical order, according to the Japanese language. Host nation Japan will close the parade.
Updated
Naomi Osaka’s opening women’s singles tennis match has been pushed back by a day to Sunday following a request from Tokyo 2020 organisers, the International Tennis Federation confirmed. The four-time grand slam champion and local star, who is returning to tennis after a two-month mental health break, was scheduled to start off Olympic proceedings on Saturday against China’s Zheng Saisai on the main showcourt at the Ariake Tennis Park.
“The request came from Tokyo 2020 organisers to move her match to Sunday,” an ITF spokesperson said. No reason was given for the switch.
If you aren’t already familiar with the super feature writing of Don McRae, it’s never too late to start. One of his recent big interviews was with Adam Peaty, the British reigning Olympics 100m breaststroke gold medallist, who opens up on his anger with dopers, aims in Tokyo and becoming a father.
Rohan Dennis withdraws from men's cycling road race
On Friday the Australian Olympic Committee confirmed that cyclist Rohan Dennis will skip tomorrow’s road race to focus on his preferred discipline, the individual time trial, next week. Dennis is a gold medal prospect in the race against the clock. He is a two-time world champion, although over the past year has been eclipsed by Italian rival Filippo Ganna, who won the iconic rainbow jersey in 2020.
Dennis has mixed memories from past Olympics – he claimed silver on the track as a member of the team pursuit squad in London, but a mechanical problem dashed his medal hopes in the time trial in Rio. Dennis’ withdrawal from the road race, although expected, will leave Australia with a small squad of just Richie Porte, Lucas Hamilton and Luke Durbridge in the challenging climb around Mount Fuji.
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Let’s catch up on a bit of news from on the ground in Tokyo. It’s hot there. Like, very hot. The kind of hot that forces organisers to move the marathon and race walking 800km north to Sapporo. Right now it’s 34C in the capital with high humidity. While residents heed warnings not to exercise outdoors, beach volleyball players practising at Shiokaze park complained that the sand was too hot for their feet, prompting staff to hose down the playing surface while athletes waited in the shade.
Just this afternoon, Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva fainted during a qualifying round while coaches and staff huddled under trees for shade.
Olympics Archery-Russian archer passes out under Tokyo's scorching heat https://t.co/k2nS6aw8eD pic.twitter.com/YVNKml355A
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 23, 2021
The politics of protests. Taking a knee has become such a widely practised anti-racism gesture it was not in the least bit surprising to see football players from the women’s United States, Sweden, Chile, Britain and New Zealand teams doing so before their opening matches on Wednesday night. In the Olympic arena, however, protests have been a hotly contested topic for decades.
For some context, the Olympics have always billed themselves as a non-political entity, one which unifies countries instead of dividing them. To wit, the contentious Rule 50 in the Olympic charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” That was famously tested at the Mexico City Games in 1968, when American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists while their national anthem played during the 200m medals ceremony.
A few months ago, under mounting international pressure to scrap the rule entirely, the IOC instead tweaked it to allow some demonstrations but only “prior to the start of competitions” and not on the medals podium. So there will undoubtedly be many more demonstrations over the coming 16 days.
However, as the Guardian revealed earlier this week, the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organisers banned their social media teams from posting pictures of athletes taking the knee, the order coming from high up the hierarchy hours before Team GB’s match against Chile. A day later they backflipped on the decision, the @Olympics account tweeting a picture of Lucy Bronze taking a knee – the same photo the Guardian had used in its original story. Along with a message: “Sports started yesterday. Just some of the highlights: Japan starting strong in softball. Teams were kneeling before the competition.”
Watch this space throughout the Games.
#Tokyo2020 sports started yesterday! Just some of the highlights...
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 22, 2021
🥎 Japan starting strong in #softball
⚽ Teams were kneeling before the competition
⚽ Vivianne Miedema scored four goals for #NED
🤸♂️ First look at the men’s gymnastics contenders in podium training
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This one, too, by Andy Bull, who invites us all into a time machine and transports us back to the very first Games in 1896. The Olympics, he writes, were “born out of uncertainty, delivered by an obdurate and implacable IOC, despite public doubts, political concerns, and escalating costs”. The IOC’s sheer stubbornness has carried the Olympics through 125 years of Olympics across two world wars, massacres, doping scandals and corruption.
“Right the way up to these Tokyo Games. The IOC has tried to compare them to the Antwerp Olympics in 1920, which were held at the tail end of the Spanish flu pandemic. But nothing in living memory has been anything like this. They’re throwing a party in the middle of a global pandemic, have 100,000 guests, 11,000 athletes, and 79,000 officials, support staff and journalists, from more than 200 countries, flying into a city stuck in a state of emergency, in a country where only 22% of the population are fully vaccinated, a country which simply isn’t ready for these Games.”
Read the full piece here:
For a first taste, this is an excellent curtain-raiser from Sean Ingle, who explores that fine line between opposing an Olympics replete with problems and controversy and being drawn in by the sporting narratives.
“These Games are undoubtedly the most controversial since Moscow 1980, when the United States led a mass boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. How could they not be when, after being postponed a year because of the pandemic, they will take place during a state of emergency in Tokyo, in front of no fans, and in the teeth of fierce opposition from locals?
Even so, organisers still believe the narrative can be shifted. First by ensuring that the Games are safe for athletes and residents. And then by trusting that the sheer intensity, drama and majesty across all 33 Olympic sports will inevitably draw us in, like moths to a flame, once more. They could yet pull it off.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Olympic Games. We’re here to provide you with 24-hour rolling coverage of all the highs and lows and in-betweens of perhaps the strangest instalment since the very first in Athens in 1896. This is the “Tokyo 2020” of 2021. The Games that couldn’t happen a year ago because of Covid-19, and the Games many believe shouldn’t happen even now as the pandemic continues to cut a swathe through Japan. Signs of a fifth wave are everywhere in the host nation, where infection and death tolls are rising and vaccination rates remain low, and the capital will be under a state of emergency for the entirety of competition. That’s before mentioning the spiralling financial cost.
But, as International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said, “there is no Plan B”. And so, organisers have pressed on, and almost 80,000 athletes, officials, support staff and yes, us the media, have either arrived or will touch down imminently. The local mood is one of derision, to the point that one of the Olympics’ biggest sponsors, Toyota, announced it will not run Tokyo 2020-related adverts. In such an environment controversy already abounds, likewise with athletes taking the knee, super quick super spikes, and all the others which have unfortunately become something of Olympics tradition such as doping, corruption and the status of Russian athletes, some of whom will compete but under a neutral flag.
We will keep you up to date with all of this, and, of course, the actual sport. Across 16 days, in front of zero spectators, 339 gold medals will be won across 33 sports. For most athletes, many of whom have endured the difficult 12-month delay, just making it to Tokyo is an achievement. Getting to the start line without testing positive or becoming a close contact will be another feat in itself. Do that, and this Games – despite all of the above – represents the peak of so many sporting careers. Reputations will be realised, magnified and shattered, and new global stars made.
Every country approaches the Olympics differently, follows different athletes and teams and excels in different sports. Whether you are rooting for Team USA, Team GB, Australia, or any other, we will be here 24/7 for all the big moments and also many of the small ones too, covering everything off the field and on. We’ll be there for Ash Barty, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Dina Asher-Smith, Stephanie Gilmore, Kevin Durant, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Ariarne Titmus. We’ll keep you across the new sports as well as the blue riband events.
With support from colleagues in New York, Sydney and London, our coverage includes reports and excellent writing from our Guardian team in Tokyo. Sean Ingle, Justin McCurry, Andy Bull, Barney Ronay, Tumaini Carayol, Suzanne Wrack, Kieran Pender and Tom Dart are on the ground, plus expert analysis through the games from Greg Rutherford, Caroline Dubois and Ben Ryan – athletes and coaches who have been there and done that, and Dubois is there now.
Every day you can receive the best of the action along with the next day’s highlights straight to your inbox via our daily newsletter. Sign up here. We also have a complete schedule, rolling medals table, and full results. For planning, check out our highlights summary and venue guide.
But first, the opening ceremony! I’m here for all the build-up before my colleague Barry Glendenning will take you through the ceremony a little later on. Please do drop me a line via email or Twitter.
