Advertisement 1

Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony: Everything you need to know about the Games kickoff

Two countries entered the parade of nations maskless and Naomi Osaka brought the Olympic flame to the promised land. Here's what you need to know about the opening ceremony if you missed it

Article content

It’s official: The cauldron has been lit and the Tokyo Olympics are underway. Featuring an empty stadium and drone-lighted globe, the opening ceremony marked the beginning of an Olympics unlike any we’ve seen before. Here are the highlights from the curtain-raiser:

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Themes from the pandemic, with a strong nod to front-line workers, got things underway
After a year of training in solitude, the ceremony lifted off with a lone treadmill-running Arisa Tsubata, a Japanese boxer and nurse. Jogging in the middle of a vast floor and dead-empty stadium, it wasn’t the Olympic moment she’d been working toward: In June, the IOC slashed the Olympic qualifying event and decided to use world rankings to select the team, eliminating her chances of going to Tokyo.

Arisa Tsubata kicked off the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games running alone on a treadmill in the middle of Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Arisa Tsubata kicked off the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games running alone on a treadmill in the middle of Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Article content

Tsubata’s run initiated themes of the pandemic and was followed by acts from Japanese performers that centred around front-line workers. Later, as the Olympic flame made its way to the cauldron, two nurses were featured among those passing off the flame that reached Naomi Osaka.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Japan’s alphabet made for an unpredictable parade of nations order
Two hundred and seven countries rolled through the National Stadium in the two-hour parade of nations. It is a segment of the opening ceremonies where the order is usually predictable thanks to the English alphabet — but this year’s organizers used the Japanese alphabet. The order, which follows Japanese pronunciation syllable by syllable, resulted in countries like Ireland featured as the fourth delegation to cross the floor.

Recommended from Editorial
  1. Arisa Tsubata was on track to compete in the Olympic qualifying event for boxing until the IOC scratched it due to COVID-19, instead using the world rankings system to determine who goes to Tokyo.
    Meet Arisa Tsubata, the lone treadmill runner at the Olympic opening ceremony
  2. A volunteer reacts during a fireworks display at the end of the  opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
    Scott Stinson: Welcome to the Weirdest of Olympics — not exactly what Tokyo first had in mind

As always, the outfits caught people’s attention
For better or worse, opening ceremony outfits always draw significant attention during the ceremonies.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

Tonga’s co-flagbearer and athlete in taekwondo, Pita Taufatofua, lit the internet on fire at the 2016 Rio Olympics for showing up oiled and shirtless. Tuafatofua returned to his old habits for the Tokyo iteration, strolling through the stadium with his chest shining from the oil. But he wasn’t the only one — Vanuatu’s Riilio Rii led his country without his top garment and oiled.

Flag bearer Malia Paseka of Tonga and PitaTaufatofua of Tonga lead their contingent during the athletes parade at the opening ceremony.
Flag bearer Malia Paseka of Tonga and PitaTaufatofua of Tonga lead their contingent during the athletes parade at the opening ceremony. Photo by Stefan Mermuth /Reuters

And, despite these Olympics flying under the dark cloud of COVID-19, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan both walked into the stadium maskless.

Flag bearers Kanykei Kubanychbekova of Kyrgyzstan and Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan lead their contingent during the athletes’ parade at the opening ceremony.
Flag bearers Kanykei Kubanychbekova of Kyrgyzstan and Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan lead their contingent during the athletes’ parade at the opening ceremony. Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach /Reuters

Bermuda, meanwhile, took to the floor wearing, well, Bermuda shorts, and New Zealand’s flag-bearers entered in fur coats despite the 30 degrees Celsius weather. Canada’s group of 30 athletes kept it simple with white pants and red tops.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content
Flag bearers Sarah Hirini and Hamish Bond of Team New Zealand during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium.
Flag bearers Sarah Hirini and Hamish Bond of Team New Zealand during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium. Photo by Maja Hitij /Getty Images

A globe of drones made us believe in magic — and ‘Imagine’ is becoming the Olympics theme song
As the ceremony awoke from the lengthy and muted parade of nations, a celebrity-lined rendition of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine” echoed through the National Stadium with a sparkling globe hanging above. The globe, comprised of 1,824 drones, was one of the spectacles of the opening ceremony.

A drone display, hanging above Olympians after the parade of nations, is seen over the top of the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium.
A drone display, hanging above Olympians after the parade of nations, is seen over the top of the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium. Photo by Laurence Griffiths /Getty Images

The song choice in “Imagine,” a unique follow-up to the parade of nations with its lyrics that asks its audience to think of a world without borders, has featured at multiple opening and closing ceremonies, most recently at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2012 Games in London.

Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic flame
The opening ceremony reached its seemingly logical conclusion as world No. 2 tennis player Naomi Osaka strolled up the steps in front of an unfolding cauldron to light the Olympic flame.

The role, frequently taken by one of the host country’s globally-renowned names, always comes with a heavy speculation. Osaka, arguably the most famous active Japanese athlete and mental health advocate, was a crowd favourite to take the torch and open the Games. The tennis star has had a tumultuous 2021 since pulling out of the French Open and Wimbledon due to mental health issues, but is returning to the public sphere in Tokyo.

Naomi Osaka of Japan stands in front of the Olympic cauldron, marking the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
Naomi Osaka of Japan stands in front of the Olympic cauldron, marking the start of the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Laurence Griffiths /Getty Images
Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers