Japanese Emperor Naruhito Declares Tokyo Summer Olympic Games Open

Japanese Emperor Naruhito Declares Tokyo Summer Olympic Games Open

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) Japanese Emperor Naruhito has declared the XXXII Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo open.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo will be held from July 23 to August 8.

Due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, the Olympics will be held without fans from abroad, as well as without Japanese spectators at all competitions in Tokyo, in the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Fukushima and Hokkaido. Spectators will be admitted to stadiums in Miyagi, Ibaraki and Shizuoka prefectures, but with severe restrictions. In total, 724 or 96% of the events will be held without fans and only 26 with spectators. For example, only about 950 people are present at Friday's opening ceremony for the Games, including officials and journalists.

Initially, the Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place last summer, but due to the pandemic, the IOC decided to postpone the competition for a year.

The final composition of the Russian national team for the Tokyo Games included 335 people. Due to the sanctions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Russian athletes will compete under the flag and name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and without the national anthem, which will be replaced by the music from the First Concert of Pyotr Tchaikovsky at the ceremonies.