SPORTS, OF SORTS
Let the germs begin!
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics finally got underway Friday with an opening ceremony that called for unity, while recognizing ongoing concerns about the pandemic that delayed the start of the Games by a year.
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron signaling the start of the event, slated to run through Aug. 8. Former Yankee Hideki Matsui was among the torch bearers who carried the Olympic flame into the nearly empty arena, where COVID restrictions turned the festivities into a surreal scene.
The Olympic committee marked the moment with a tweet captioned “united by emotion” and “stronger together.”
Spectators with a view of the New National Stadium watched as fireworks filled the sky over Japan’s capital city. Lighted drones overhead formed a rotating likeness of the Earth.
Protesters gathered outside the $1.5 billion arena reconstructed for this event, calling for the Games to be suspended until the pandemic is under control. Tokyo is seeing nearly 2,000 new infections per day, a six-month high.
While the stadium has a nearly 70,000 person capacity, about 950 VIPs were allowed to attend. Only 150 of those guests were Japanese. A survey by Japanese outlet the Asahi Shimbun found in May that 83% of those in Japan opposed the Games of the XXXII Olympiad taking place as scheduled.
Inside the stadium, masked athletes, whose families couldn’t attend, watched as dancers and other performs gave their best efforts, only to be greeted with a humble smattering of applause instead of the usual rousing fanfare. Just under 11,100 athletes will participate overall, 613 of whom will represent the U.S.
A recording of John Lennon’s “Imagine” performed by artists from around the world including John Legend and Keith Urban played via video. That song’s lyrics include the words “Imagine there’s no countries.