Separate flags for Hirini, Bond
Sarah Hirini and Hamish Bond are likely to carry a flag each in Friday’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, due to Covid restrictions.
Flagbearers Hirini, a sevens player, and rowing eight member Bond are in different athlete bubbles, so must remain two metres apart in a bid to stop the spread of Covid.
Chef de mission Rob Waddell was yesterday seeking clarity around how the flag issue might unfold, though an NZOC spokeswoman said more than likely Hirini and Bond would be allowed to carry a flag each.
‘‘We have no reason to think there will be issues, the final details are yet to be sorted,’’ she said.
New Zealand’s flagbearers would have been unable to march side-by-side with one flag and remain two metres apart.
About 20 of the 211 athletes across all sports would march in the opening ceremony on Friday, a New Zealand Olympic Committee spokesman told Stuff.
‘‘We’re expecting a smaller contingent than usual – in Rio only about 30 marched, so it’s not much lower,’’ he said. Rio had an austere opening ceremony, tailored to its economic conditions, which cost about half that of London 2012.
Australia indicated that about 10 per cent of its Olympic delegation of 472 athletes will march, similar to the Kiwi percentage.
At the ceremony, New Zealand athletes must social distance from the teams of other nations, and in some cases members of their own team.
‘‘The sevens team will be sending a group to march. Hamish [Bond], as a member of a different bubble would have to stay two metres away from them,’’ the NZOC spokesman said.
Details about the opening – at 11pm Friday (NZT) – are a closely held secret, as is usual for the event. It is usually a spectacular show highlighting the traditions, culture and charms of the host country. The announced Tokyo theme is: ‘‘United by Emotion.’’
Covid has caused a rethink for these Games, held over from 2020 when the pandemic struck. Organisers have adjusted both the messaging and implementation of this summer’s opening ceremony, USA Today has reported.
Due to Covid, there will be no fans at the opening ceremony, though members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), diplomats, foreign dignitaries and sponsors will still be allowed in – Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun put that number at 10,000.
The show is expected to reflect the challenge of Covid, with the marching order of nations determined by their Japanese-language names, in katakana order, rather than alphabetically in English.
Waddell last week said the traditional welcome to the village for new arrivals will now be a virtual ceremony, and each sport will largely keep to itself.
There will be strict social distancing, daily Covid testing, temperature checks on entry and plexiglass partitions in the dining hall and gyms. No New Zealand athletes will be permitted to attend other events and cheer on their compatriots.