NAOMI. OSAKA.
— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) July 23, 2021
The four-time Grand Slam champion lights the Olympic Cauldron.
Let the Tokyo Olympics BEGIN. #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/Lva4XDW8UG
TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japanese Emperor Naruhito has declared the XXXII Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo open.
Due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, the Olympics will be held without fans from abroad, as well as without Japanese spectators at all competitions in Tokyo, in the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Fukushima and Hokkaido. Spectators will be admitted to stadiums in Miyagi, Ibaraki and Shizuoka prefectures, but with severe restrictions. In total, 724 or 96% of the events will be held without fans and only 26 with spectators. For example, only about 950 people are present at Friday's opening ceremony for the Games, including officials and journalists.
Initially, the Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place last summer, but due to the pandemic, the IOC decided to postpone the competition for a year.
The final composition of the Russian national team for the Tokyo Games included 335 people. Due to the sanctions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Russian athletes will compete under the flag and name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and without the national anthem, which will be replaced by the music from the First Concert of Pyotr Tchaikovsky at the ceremonies.
#VamosConTokio🇯🇵
— Cultura Colectiva News (@CCNews__) July 23, 2021
En un ambiente en el que sólo se quiere respirar paz, se interpreta 'Imagine', de John Lennon, por parte de Angelique Kidjo, Alejandro Sanz, John Legend y Keith Urban. #VamosConTokyo pic.twitter.com/0sFlBLM5Ti
TOKYO (Sputnik) - Some foreign athletes living in the Olympic Village in Tokyo have been unable to undergo daily PCR testing for coronavirus as required due to a shortage of testing kits, the NHK broadcaster reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Under the rules aimed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Olympic athletes are required to undergo COVID-19 testing on a daily basis.
At the beginning of the week, several national Olympic committees reported to the organisers the lack of testing kits, the sources said.
In particular, those athletes who did not receive their tests on 19 July, were offered to take tests twice the next day.
#WATCH | The Indian contingent led by flagbearers boxer MC Mary Kom & men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh enters the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) July 23, 2021
(Video source: Doordarshan Sports)#Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/ByYKBZzkjN
Watch out world, here we come. 💪🇺🇸#TokyoOlympics x @teamusa pic.twitter.com/qaEEKtSsby
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 23, 2021
The athletes have arrived for the parade of nations. #TokyoOlympics #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/CfskPM9pHF
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 23, 2021
Ееее, РОК! 😁🤘🏻
— Миха Якубенко (@yakubenko_m) July 23, 2021
А это наши, наша сборная! Не смотря ни на что - будем побеждать 😌#Токио2020 #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/HWHmBxa3Rp
TOKYO (Sputnik) - A protest against holding Olympic Games is ongoing in Tokyo near a stadium during an opening ceremony of the event on Friday.
Protesters who demand to spend money on COVID-19 response instead of the Olympics can be heard from inside the stadium.
Large-scale demonstrations are also underway in downtown Tokyo.
The #OpeningCeremony for the #Olympics #Tokyo2020 has officially begun 🎆#UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/N1jXG8SDFM
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Tokyo metropolitan government recorded 1,359 daily coronavirus cases on Friday, the Japanese Kyodo news reported, amid public concern about surging infections in the capital city where the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games will be held later in the day.
The hosting city is currently under the fourth state of emergency declared on 12 July due to a steady rise in positive COVID-19 cases in previous weeks. The state of emergency will be in place until 22 August, covering the entire duration of the Olympic Games.
