TOKYO — The Tokyo Olympics are finally upon us after a long journey filled with controversy, and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some sports have already held events, the officially proceedings begin with Friday’s opening ceremony at the National Stadium.
Here are the latest developments in this evolving story:
Friday, July 23 (Tokyo time)
11:18 p.m. Emperor Naruhito declares the Games open
11:13 p.m. Time for speeches now. Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto starts off by saying she hopes the Olympics will offer a moment of peace. She appears to be on verge of tears.
IOC President Thomas Bach says today is a moment of hope and expresses gratitude to the Japanese people for hosting the Games. He makes a special point of welcoming the refugee athletes.
10:50 p.m. 1,824 drones form a planet in the sky above the stadium, as a junior chorus sings John Lennon’s “Imagine.” It then cuts to artists from all the world’s continents singing the classic sequentially in a video clip.
10:45 p.m. Four Japanese athletes read out the Olympic oath together, in a similar way to how representative students speak in unison at a Japanese school ceremony.
10:35 p.m. The entrance of Japan, led by NBA star Rui Hachimura and wrestler Yui Susaki, round off the 206 groups of athletes.
10:05 p.m. The orchestra is playing a medley of Japanese video game songs as the athletes come in. For the gamers out there, here’s the set list:
Dragon Quest – “Overture: Roto’s Theme”
Final Fantasy – “Victory Fanfare”
Tales of series – “Sorey’s Theme – The Shepherd”
Monster Hunter – “Proof of a Hero”
Kingdom Hearts – “Olympus Coliseum”
Chrono Trigger – “Frog’s Theme”
Ace Combat – “First Flight”
Tales of series – “Pomp and Majesty”
Monster Hunter – “Wind of Departure”
Chrono Trigger – “Robo’s Theme”
Sonic the Hedgehog – “Star Light Zone”
Winning Eleven (Pro Evolution Soccer) – “eFootball walk-on theme”
Final Fantasy – “MAIN THEME”
Phantasy Star Universe – “Guardians”
Kingdom Hearts – “Hero’s Fanfare”
Gradius (Nemesis) – “01 ACT I-1”
NieR – “Song of the Ancients”
SaGa series – “The Orchestral SaGa – Legend of Music”
Soulcalibur – “The Brave New Stage of History”
9:50 p.m. We are now roughly halfway through the athletes’ entrance. The countries are entering in the Japanese alphabetic order.
8:40 p.m. As is traditional, Greek athletes are the first to enter the stadium. They are all wearing masks, and keeping their distance from each other. They are followed by the Refugee team.
It should take about two hours for all 206 groups of athletes to enter the stadium. The music is an orchestral medley of songs from famous Japanese video games. The country names take the form of manga speech bubbles.
8:35 p.m. After a moment’s silence, drummers dressed as carpenters from Japan’s Edo period start tap dancing on and around wooden tables. The performance appears to aimed at highlighting the use of lumber for the construction of several Olympic venues.
Banks of traditional paper lanterns are wheeled on and the tap dancing carpenters are joined by contemporary dancers. A wooden set of Olympic rings is hoisted in the center of the field.
Followed by more fireworks.
Tap dancers dressed as carpenters perform during the opening ceremony on Friday. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
8:20 p.m. The Japanese Emperor Naruhito and IOC President Thomas Bach meet on the stage, as the national flag of Japan is brought into the stadium by four athletes, a person with an impairment and a healthcare worker.
As members of Japan’s Self Defense Forces, renown Japan singer Misia sings the national anthem.
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach are seen during the opening ceremony. (Pool photo)
8:13 p.m. A short live action scene of athletes training alone, as many did due to social distancing requirements during the pandemic. The field is lit up with red and white lights showing the bonds between people.
8:05 p.m. The ceremony begins with a video showing the eight years since Tokyo won its bid, and views of street scenes around the Japanese capital. This is followed by a live-action style montage of athletes.
Most striking are the fireworks being launched from the roof of the stadium.
Fireworks explode as performers form the Olympic rings during the opening ceremony. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
8:00 p.m. The opening ceremony begins.
7:00 p.m. There is now just one hour until the start of the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics. A lot of speculation is swirling over who will light the Olympic cauldron at the end of a ceremony that is expected to last about 3 1/2 hours. It’s the most tightly kept secret of the evening.
4:49 p.m. Athletes are starting to feel the heat and humidity in Tokyo, which led to the marathon’s relocation to Hokkaido in the north. Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva briefly fainted during a qualifying round this afternoon. Medics also responded to overheated people who had gathered around the National Stadium to watch the Blue Impulse air squadron’s skywriting exhibition.
4:37 p.m. Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee plans to launch a bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2036 after losing out this week to a bid by Brisbane to hold the 2032 Games, the head of the committee says.
“We will not back down and will continue to fight for the 2036 Olympics,” Raja Sapta Oktohari, the chief of Indonesia’s committee, said in a statement.
4:15 p.m. Tokyo 2020 is considering appointing former president Yoshiro Mori as an honorary supreme adviser, Asahi Shimbun reported. Mori resigned in February over sexist remarks. Criticism has been growing over his potential appointment on social media.
3:41 p.m. Emperor Naruhito received a courtesy visit from U.S. first lady Jill Biden and other foreign dignitaries at the Imperial Palace. It was the first time for the emperor to meet with the first lady, who is leading the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony.
3:18 p.m. Japan’s Naomi Osaka has had her opening match in the women’s singles event pushed back by a day to Sunday following a request from Tokyo 2020 organizers, the International Tennis Federation told Reuters.
There was no reason given for the switch
A woman suffering from heatstroke is cooled off after watching the Blue Impulse aerobatics performance in Tokyo on Friday. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
12:07 p.m. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla at the State Guest House in Tokyo to seek faster delivery of coronavirus vaccine shipments as infections. Bourla will attend the opening ceremony later today. Pfizer provided 40,000 doses of COVID vaccine to athletes and other people involved in the games.
11:29 a.m. Tokyo 2020 confirm 19 new Olympics-related COVID-19 infections, including three athletes and three members of the media, bringing the total to 106.
11:00 a.m. French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Tokyo. He is expected to discuss the issue of child abductions and Japan’s single custody system when he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
An Olympic countdown clock in front of Tokyo Station, shown here on July 23, ticks down to the official opening of the Games. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi)
7:32 a.m. The firing of the artistic director of the opening ceremony over a decades-old skit about the Holocaust was just one of many scandals that have plagued the Games, highlighting the insular culture and the lack of social awareness among its organizers, writes Hisashi Tsutsui.
2:55 a.m. Guinea’s five athletes will participate in the Olympics after all, a statement from the West African nation’s sport ministry says, reversing the previous day’s decision to suspend its participation in the Games citing the pandemic.
2:18 a.m. Malicious software and websites have targeted both event organizers and ordinary fans.
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To catch up on earlier developments, see the last edition of latest updates.