Tokyo Olympics kickstarts with opening ceremony Today

Arhama Altaf

23rd Jul, 2021. 03:58 pm
Share
- Listen
- Font size
  - Small
  - Medium
  - Large
- Dark Mode
- Save
- Print

Articles

The final preparations are being made ahead of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony all set to take place on Friday.

Organizers said the Tokyo Olympics can be held safely, despite calls for it to be cancelled because of sharp Coronavirus rise across the world.

The Olympics will feature 33 sports at 339 events across 42 venues.

🔜 🏟️ Just 🔟 minutes until the #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony begins ⏰ 🎆#Olympics | #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/FXckQ6DS6j
Advertisement
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021

What Covid measures will be in place for visiting athletes?

International athletes and support staff are being tested every day. Athletes don’t have to be vaccinated, though International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials expect around 80% will be.

More than 90 people associated with the Games have tested positive so far, including British athlete Amber Hill who has withdrawn from the women’s skeet competition.

Will there be any spectators?

All spectators were banned after a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo on 8 July. It will stay in place until 22 August.

It’s thought there will be fewer than 1,000 people in the stadium for the opening ceremony.

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said she was “sorry to those who purchased tickets”.

On the other hand, Boxing great MC Mary Kom and Indian hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh will be the flag-bearers at Japan National Stadium.

Last year’s scheduled Olympics were postponed for a year and now the Games are scheduled to take place in Tokyo from July 23, with the Paralympics set to begin on August 24, a month later.

The organizers said that due to the challenging situation of COVID-19 in Japan and other countries of the world, travel restrictions and the spread of a new type of virus, we were forced to make this decision and refund those who bought tickets.

For the first time in history, the World Games were postponed in March last year due to a virus threat, with more than 11,000 athletes from 200 countries taking part.

Tokyo Olympics kickstarts with opening ceremony Today

Arhama Altaf

Articles