Tokyo. After a one-year pandemic delay, the Tokyo Olympics began Friday with a scaled back but still celebratory opening ceremony.
Held amid tens of thousands of empty seats in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, only about 900 dignitaries and other officials attended the event because of COVID-19 precautions.
The opening ceremony, themed “United by Emotion,” may be one of the most normal elements of what figures to be the most unusual Olympic Games ever.
Familiar elements such as fireworks, drones, musical performances and a cauldron-lighting ceremony set the stage for the Games. Athletes will march and wave their countries’ flags during a smaller than usual and socially distanced parade of nations.
“A minimum of 1 meter and possibly 2 meters of social distancing is required, and they have to wear masks all the time,” said Hidemasa Nakamura, a Tokyo 2020 organizing committee official.
The Japanese public is broadly opposed to holding the Games, fearing they will worsen Japan’s already deteriorating pandemic situation.
Tokyo on Thursday reported nearly 2,000 new COVID-19 infections – a six-month high for a city that is already under a state of emergency.
In the capital, public viewing areas have been canceled. Bars have been asked to not serve alcohol. The torch relay, an Olympic mainstay, was replaced by online lighting ceremonies.
So far, 106 people associated with the Olympics have tested positive for the virus. That includes several athletes, whose Olympic dreams were cut short. Still, organizers have played down fears of a cluster infection breaking out in the Olympic Village, saying the overall infection rate is very low. – VOA
