Japan welcomed the world with a fantastic performance at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium Friday night. Honoring the heroes that saved lives during the pandemic and the athletes who made it to the Olympics, the opening ceremony was filled with Japanese tradition, extreme technology, and a beautiful finish with the Olympic cauldron lit.
The Opening ceremony began with a video montage showing the years between when the city was awarded the games in 2013 to when everything stopped. The last section showed athletes working out in their homes for the past 17 months leading to the traditional countdown that opened up the show.
The ceremony began with men and women on exercise equipment and some doing exercises manually. The performance changed to a group that used red strings to express connecting the dots and the strings of a human heart.
The Japanese flag was brought into the stadium as well as the introduction of IOC President Thomas Bach and Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Misia earned the honor to sing the country’s national anthem as the flag was raised. A noteworthy moment occurred when the IOC made a tribute to acknowledge the loss of life due to the Coronavirus and the tragedy that occurred at the 1972 Olympics when 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the terrorist group Black September.
The ceremony turned into the creative portion with Japan showing its traditional styles beginning with its love for ancient Japanese wood carving. It led to a significant moment where the wood on center stage was from seeds that athletes of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo planted and grew. Giant wooden circles were rolled out that soon led to the traditional formation of the Olympic rings. Embed from Getty Images
The parade of athletes began with Greece coming in first even though the remaining 205 nations would come in using the Japanese alphabet. As a sign of gender equality, each country had a man and a woman carry in the flag if both genders had competitors representing. Embed from Getty Images
Preceding the oath of fair judging and play, the show continued with children moving colorful blocks into the center to create the logo of the Tokyo Olympics. In the sky flew 1,800 drones in the same shape as a logo before taking colors as a globe in the sky. Back down below sang a chorus of young Japanese people singing John Lennon’s Imagine. Videos then showed an individual from every continent taking part in the song. Representing North America was John Legend and Keith Urban representing Oceana. Alejandro Sanz sang as part of Europe and Angelique Kidjo for Africa.
Speeches from the Tokyo organizing committee and IOC President Thomas Bach express their appreciation that the youth of the world made it to Tokyo for the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic. The honor then went to Emperor Naruhito, who opened the games of Tokyo with a fireworks display soon after.
The Olympic flag was carried in by six athletes who were essential workers of Japan as an honor of their hard work during the pandemic. A high school choir from the region of Fukushima that was devastated a decade ago from an earthquake and tsunami sung the Olympic Anthem while the flag was raised by armed services of Japan.
We're obsessed with these human pictograms! 😂
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 23, 2021
Which sport was your favourite? #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/WgArDJEJGF
The peace symbol of doves was flown in digitally while paper doves fell upon the athletes. A video followed that up with the origin of the pictograms that were created to represent the sports of the Olympics back in 1964. After showing pictograms from every summer Olympics since performers made every pictogram live on stage.
Japanese comedians then took over before lights were turned on in some of Tokyo’s famous venues in a welcome to the world. The show then spotlighted Kabuki with famous jazz pianist Hironi playing solo to the world. A video of the Olympic torch’s journey from Olympia in Greece through the Japanese countryside to the stadium.
The circle around the stadium with the torch was represented by Olympians, Paralympians, former baseball stars of Japan. A doctor, nurse, and children from the region of the 2011 earthquake helped with bringing the Olympic flame closer to its rightful place. Tennis star Naomi Osaka was given the biggest honor of lighting the cauldron that concluded the nearly four-hour ceremony.
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