Tokyo Olympicsopening ceremony begin today with a bang. It was year-long delay due toCovid-19 pandemic. This is the first time that the Olympics games have beenpostponed and rescheduled, rather than cancelled.
Despite beingrescheduled for 2021, the event retains the Tokyo 2020 name for marketing andbranding purposes.
The opening ceremonyof Tokyo Olympics 2021 took place on July 23 at newly-built NationalStadium in the Japanese capital while the closing ceremony will be held onAugust 8, 2021 at the same venue.
Leaders from around15 countries have been invited to attend the opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics. Reportsin Japan have suggested that those attending the ceremony in person could be aslow as 1,000 due to the pandemic.
At the Tokyo Olympicsopening ceremony, India was at 21st out of 205 contingents in the Parade ofNations.
A vastly smallernumber of athletes, about 20 per nation, marched in the teams' parade, withmany flying in just before their competitions and due to leave shortly after toavoid infections.
Chief CabinetSecretary of Japanese government Katsunobu Kato said, “The decision to limitthe number of attendees during the opening ceremony at the National Stadium wastaken in view of the organisers' efforts to control the raging COVID-19pandemic.”
He further stated, “Around70 cabinet-level officials are also set to visit Japan, adding that there isstill uncertainty over the number of VIPs attending the opening ceremony.”
Tokyo 2020 held acompetition for the design of medals which attracted more than 400 entries. Themedals for Tokyo Olympics 2021 are made from recycled electronics. 5,000 gold,silver, and bronze medals were made from recycled electronics sourced from allover Japan.