By Karen Rosen
TOKYO – Joy, resilience and face
masks color-coordinated with the flags of the world were on display at the
Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
And there was relief, too, that these
Games are actually happening.
Beginning a year late and a tens of
thousands of spectators short in the nearly empty new Olympic Stadium, Friday’s
ceremony mixed hope for the future with an acknowledgement of the losses of
life and opportunities due to the pandemic.
Team USA came roaring in two
countries ahead of host country Japan. Although there are 613 athletes in the
American delegation, only an estimated 200-plus marched in outfits designed by
Ralph Lauren since many have not yet arrived due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Others were resting their legs for the long-delayed competition ahead.
“We’re ready,” said Sarah Hirshland,
CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. “Team USA comes prepared.
We will do everything we can to keep our team, our delegation and all of our
colleagues and peers both here in Japan and around the world healthy and safe.
And may the Games and the competition be as wonderful as we all could
anticipate.”
Organizers estimated that about 5,700
athletes from 205 countries and the Refugee Olympic Team marched, with more
than 10,000 set to compete at the Games. However, the parade of athletes still
lasted exactly two hours.
Basketball player Sue Bird and
baseball player Eddy Alvarez, who won a medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in
short track speedskating, were the American flag bearers as First Lady Jill
Biden watched from the VIP box.
“I know all the athletes appreciate
the support that’s coming from back home, in the form of the First Lady being
there with us and everyone watching back home,” said shot put world record
holder Ryan Crouser, who also was watching from home since athletes are not
allowed to come to the Games until five days before their event starts due to
Covid-19 restrictions.
The giant video board did show a
montage of well-wishers from around the world.
Although hosting these Games has been
controversial, Japan welcomed the world graciously and showcased aspects of its
culture including woodworking and kabuki. The hosts also honored the healthcare
workers, rescue workers and other essential workers who have contributed so
much during the pandemic. They were included both within the ceremony and in
the speeches by Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the organizing committee, and IOC
president Thomas Bach.
“The world is waiting for you,”
Hashimoto told the athletes.
The ceremony creative team utilized
the field of play as well as the sky with dazzling fireworks and a fleet of
drones that formed the Tokyo 2020 logo in lights and then morphed into a giant
Earth.
The main stage represented the sun,
the focal point on the Japanese national flag, as well as the country’s famous
Mount Fuji.
The $1.4 billion stadium, built on
the site of the stadium used for the 1964 Olympic Games, was empty except for
about 1,000 dignitaries and hundreds of the world’s press. There were also
about 1,400 cast members and about 1,800 staff worked on the ceremony.
While this was a made-for-TV event –
with John Legend, Keith Urban and other artists on video singing “Imagine” and
a film showing Tokyo highlights – nothing can match seeing the lighting of the
Olympic cauldron in person.
The flame entered the stadium to the
sound of “Bolero.” Torchbearers included famous Japanese baseball player
Sadaharu Oh and a doctor and a nurse. And then out stepped tennis player Naomi
Osaka as the final torchbearer.
As stairs appeared on the
representation of Mount Fuji, the sun atop opened like a flower “to embody
vitality and hope,” according to Tokyo organizers. “It is a divine image that
acts as a visual representation of the start of the Tokyo Games.” A second
cauldron is in the waterfront area of Tokyo.
The torch relay started its journey
on March 25 in Fukushima Prefecture, where the first Olympic softball games
were held on Wednesday. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Great
East Japan Earthquake and the torch relay spotlighted the recovery of the areas
most affected by the disaster.
Themes of the nearly four-hour
ceremony included “Moving Forward,” “United by Emotion, “For a More Diverse
Future,” “Apart But Not Alone,” “Connecting the Dots” and “Hope Lights Our
Way.”
As always, the parade of athletes was
a highlight. The accompanying music was songs from video games, a
quintessential part of Japanese culture, starting with the theme from “Dragon
Quest.” The placard bearers wore costumes based on manga.
The athletes came in from one end of
the stadium and marched down the middle of the infield instead of taking a lap.
Most wore masks, but were not socially distanced.
As the birthplace of the Olympic
Games, Greece always leads the way. The other countries followed according to
the Japanese alphabet.
For the first time, the next two host
countries – Team USA and France – were given the honor of marching in at the
end of the procession before the host.
Also for the first time, most teams
had both male and female flag bearers, sending a message of gender equity.
Sometimes the two flag bearers looked
awkward while waving their flag, but the extra pair of hands was convenient
when one flag bearer wanted to take a selfie. The flag bearers from the
Dominican Republic showed off some dance moves, as did the ones from Portugal.
The entire delegation from Argentina bounced up and down as they progressed
across the field.
And yes, the Tonga male flag bearer
was well-oiled.
Emperor Naruhito declared the Games
open, followed by more fireworks and a symbolic release of doves that flew
through the air like paper airplanes.
After doves released at the Seoul
Olympics in 1988 were apparently incinerated in the cauldron lighting, the IOC
has forbidden the use of live birds.
Another crowd pleaser was a tribute
to sport pictograms, which were introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games. Actors
simulated the 50 pictograms to be used for the 2020 Games.
Water polo player Maddie Musselman
said the lack of spectators at venues wouldn’t dampen her enthusiasm.
Hours before the Opening Ceremony,
Musselman said that her team has “always done a really good job of creating our
own energy within our circle, and to be able to do that in a space where
there’s usually people surrounding you. I don’t see that being a problem for us
to be able to create that Olympic spirit and that Olympic vibe within our team.
And something we’ve always done is come together at opening ceremonies, and I
look forward to that.”
In another press conference Friday,
Susanne Lyons, chair of the USOPC board, said she was “amazed and relieved that
we find ourselves here today.”
She said that when Japan won the
election to host the 2020 Games in 2013, the victory was a source of great
excitement. It has since transformed into a source of great stress.
“We recognized how very, very difficult this has been,” Lyons said, “and we come here humbly and with respect for our Japanese hosts. We will follow every protocol, we will follow every rule to make sure this is a safe and secure Olympics for everyone.”
Michael Phelps Teaches Swimming
No comments:
Post a Comment