![]() Unlike other Olympic Games where countries/regions were arranged in alphabetical order, the parade in the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony was arranged according to the Japanese alphabet. Photo: Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport via Getty Images Team of Tonga during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremonyįor the team parade, Greece’s athletes entered the stadium to lead what would become a two hour-long spectacle. The performance, reminiscent of Japan’s traditional summertime matsuri (festivals), unveiled the Olympic rings. After the national anthem was another interpretive dance that included a medley of tap dancing, Edo-style Hanten coats and percussion beats. This was followed by the national anthem – ‘Kimi Ga Yo’ – performed by singer-songwriter Misia, who was dressed in a colourful dress likened to cotton candy by netizens. Photo: Bai Yu/Chinasports/VCG via Getty Images Here, digital graphics were projected across the stadium floor as frontline nurse and boxer Arisa Tsubata jogged on a treadmill while dancers performed an abstract piece behind her, symbolising the athletes’ plight in training during the pandemic for this event. ![]() The first performance showcased Japan’s forte in digital art and projection mapping technology. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images Arisa Tsubata performs with dancers during the light show at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony Difficult emotions were further amplified by the sight of empty seats in the vast stadium, but with the parade of international athletes, a series of Japan-centric performances and a breathtaking drone display, the event quickly picked up momentum. The introduction to the ceremony was bittersweet, beginning with a tribute to all the lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. While spectators – with the exception of VIPs – were banned from attending the event, an explosive fireworks display above Kengo Kuma’s newly designed National Stadium signalled its commencement to all those gazing out at the Tokyo skyline. ![]() There to open the long-awaited event was Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, the third emperor to take on the role of honorary patron of the Olympic Games. However, we finally made it to the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games a year later on July 23 2021. These aren’t the kind of circumstances that anyone could have predicted for hosting the event before 2020. There are many firsts in this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games: the first time for an Asian city to host the Games twice, the first time ever for the Games to be postponed, and the first time for the Games to be held without any spectators.
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