Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto expects the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games here to be a “solemn” occasion rather than a festival.
Athletes are set to march into the Japan National Stadium tomorrow (July 23) where Japanese Emperor Naruhito is expected to declare the Games open.
There will be no fans permitted for the event with seats only reserved for dignitaries, diplomats, members of the International Olympic Committee and Olympic sponsors as a measure to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Tokyo 2020 billed the Olympics as the “recovery and reconstruction” Games following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011, but this has been all but overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was announced last week that the main theme for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies is “Moving Forward”, a reference to the response to the global health crisis – which forced the Games to be postponed by a year.
But Hashimoto has suggested that the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake will be highlighted at the Opening Ceremony.
The Olympic Opening Ceremony next week will take as its theme the words “United by Emotion”, which have already become well known as the motto for Tokyo 2020.
Although much of the content will remain secret until the opening night the entry of Olympics.
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