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For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the major event has to take place outside the usual four-year cycle.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the games, originally planned for the period from July 24 to August 9, 2020, have been postponed by almost exactly one year.
The games of the XXXII.
The Olympics are now set to begin with the opening ceremony on July 23 and end on August 8.
The Paralympics are scheduled from August 24th to September 5th.
The development of the pandemic, however, repeatedly raises criticism and doubts as to whether and if so how the games can actually be played.
It would be the second time that the major event will take place in Tokyo (Japan) in the summer.
Also in 1964 the world's best met in Japan's capital.
Tokyo has been pointing out the Games with gigantic Olympic rings since the beginning of 2020: the symbol from the five rings, which is more than 15 meters high and almost 33 meters long, is located on a raft in Tokyo Bay in front of the Odaiba district.
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The German Olympic team wants to defend its place among the top nations in Tokyo.
At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the team finished fifth in the medal table.
The yield: 17 gold, 10 silver and 15 bronze medals.
Will Tokyo take place in 2021?
Host Japan and the IOC have repeatedly confirmed that they want to stick to their Olympic plans.
Various implementation scenarios are being worked on in the background, and many restrictions and rules have already been set.
However, according to recent polls, the vast majority of the Japanese population is in favor of a cancellation or renewed postponement.
No North Korean flag in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium - the communist regime has banned its athletes from participating in the Games.
Reason: Safety concerns because of the pandemic
Source: pa / Jan Woitas / dp
The German Olympic doctor Bernd Wolfarth recently expressed the opinion in a video discussion of the German Olympic Society in Berlin: The Olympic Games in Tokyo can also succeed in the corona pandemic if all participants adhere to the strict hygiene requirements.
The success of the games "depends on the concepts," said Wolfarth.
Top football tournaments or the handball world championship would have shown that it is very possible to organize large events safely even under the complicated conditions.
Olympia 2021: This is how it should work
All participants (athletes and the immediate environment such as trainers and supervisors) must be tested twice before leaving for Japan.
After arrival, they will be retested every day for three days, depending on their role at the games and contact with athletes.
There is no 14-day quarantine, so that the athletes can start training immediately upon arrival.
The athletes are only allowed to move in assigned vehicles;
the use of public transport is prohibited.
Eating is only allowed in certain places with anti-corona measures such as the canteens at the competition venues, restaurants in the Olympic Village and in the accommodation.
Tokyo 2021: No foreign viewers
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These games will be different - also because there won't be any Olympic fans from all over the world in the stadium or in the city. Due to the corona pandemic, no foreign fans are allowed to enter Japan. The reason for the decision of the Japanese organizers is the fear of the further spread of the virus. Ticket buyers from abroad should receive a reimbursement of costs. It has not yet been determined whether local spectators will be admitted to the competitions.
As reported by the Japanese television broadcaster NHK, citing the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government has also expressed the need to the IOC to significantly reduce the number of official visitors who are not directly involved in hosting the competitions. According to information from the Japanese news agency Kyodo, the number of official Olympic guests is to be cut by half to around 30,000 people.
An estimated 90,000 people from abroad are expected, including around 30,000 athletes, coaches and team members.
As a further precaution, the government now wants to cut by half the number of those who are not directly involved in the competitions.
Those affected could include guests of IOC members as well as previous Olympic medal winners.
Vaccinations: Status in Japan
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Japan starts the vaccination process around two months later than some western countries, as tests on Japanese people are considered necessary first.
The government has signed a contract for 120 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
That would be enough to vaccinate 60 million of the country's 126 million citizens by the end of June.
Japan also has contracts with Moderna, AstraZeneca and Novavax.
Priority should be given to medical staff and the elderly.
As of April, vaccination of all citizens in Japan - apart from the hospital staff - has not yet started.
Vaccinations: what about the athletes?
IOC President Thomas Bach has ruled out compulsory vaccinations for athletes several times.
The organizers advertise that as many athletes and other Tokyo travelers as possible get vaccinated.
Olympia 2021: heat and competition postponement
The athletes will not only have to deal with their opponents at the 2021 Olympics, but in all likelihood also with extremely challenging conditions.
Heat and high humidity are likely to cause problems for those fighting for medals outside.
The 40 degree mark is not utopian.
The marathon and walking competitions have therefore already been relocated to Sapporo, around 800 kilometers north of Tokyo, where the 1972 Winter Olympics took place.
The triathlon races and the eventing competitions each start an hour earlier than originally planned.
The starting signal for the individual triathlon races will be given at 6:30 a.m. local time, and at 7:30 a.m. for the mixed relay.
The cross-country ride starts between 7.30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Doctor warns of "heat strokes"
Tokyo has been suffering from extreme heat and high humidity for weeks.
A Japanese doctor is already warning of the dangers that such a heat wave can also bring in the coming year at the Summer Olympics.
Source: SID
The Paralympic marathons at the beginning of September, however, will remain in Tokyo (start time 6.30 a.m.).
“The health and well-being of our athletes are our top priority.
Before we made this decision, we analyzed all the relevant data and spoke to athletes, ”said IPC President Andrew Parsons.
"The weather data has shown that temperatures will be within the limits for safe and optimal competition."
The IPC moved the start times for the triathlon competitions from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. local time.
Time difference in Tokyo
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In summer Japan is seven hours ahead of us.
So if it is 12 noon in Germany, it is 7 pm in Japan.
The competitions take place between 6.30 a.m. and midnight local time, i.e. between 11.30 p.m. (marathon) and 5 p.m. in this country.
It looks extremely unusual for the swimmers, who usually have their finals in the evening.
In Japan, however, the prelims take place between 7 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. (CET 12 p.m.-2.30 p.m.) and the finals between 10.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. (CET 3.30 a.m.-5.30 p.m.)
Tokyo 2021: broadcast on television
As usual, the 2021 Olympic Games will be shown live on television and in live streams - on Eurosport and public broadcasters.
ARD and ZDF share the reporting.
Olympic Games 2021: New Sports and Disciplines
The following sports are new or back in the Olympic program:
Streetball / basketball 3x3 (men and women)
Baseball (for men) and softball (for women)
karate
skateboard
Sport climbing
surfing
The new disciplines include:
Track bike: Madison (men and women)
Bike: BMX Freestyle (F / M)
Archery: mixed event
Athletics: 4x400 m mixed relay
Swimming: 800 m men, 1500 m women, mixed relay over 4x100 m
Judo: mixed team event
Table tennis: mixed doubles
Triathlon: mixed team relay
Schedule Olympia 2021 - Highlights
Opening ceremony:
July 23, 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. CET).
The women's softball and soccer tournaments start two days in advance
First decisions:
July 24th, air rifle and air pistol shooting, men's street races
Canoeing guarantee for success:
Finals in canoe slalom on August 26th, 27th, 29th and 30th, in canoe racing on August 3rd, 5th and 7th.
In 2016 in Rio, the canoeists were the most successful German athletes with four gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Riding, dressage team:
July 27th
Riding, dressage singles:
July 28th
Row, figure eight and one:
July 30th
Swimming, 1500 m freestyle men:
August 1st, probably with world champion Florian Wellbrock.
Swimming competitions
Athletics, 100 m men:
August 1st
Horse riding, eventing finals:
August 2nd
Athletics, long jump women:
August 3rd, probably with world champion Malaika Mihambo
Show jumping, singles final:
August 4th
Athletics, decathlon men:
4th / 5th
August, probably with world champion Niklas Kaul
Hockey, men's final:
August 5th
Beach volleyball, women final:
August 6th
Hockey, women final:
August 6th
Basketball, men's final:
August 7th
Beach volleyball, men's final:
August 7th
Football, men final:
August 7th
Handball, men's final:
August 7th
Show jumping, final team:
August 7th
Graduation ceremony:
August 8, 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. CEST)
Here you will find the schedule with sports, disciplines, days and times in detail.
Russia and Olympics 2021
Russia will be banned from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
In mid-December, the International Sports Court (CAS) halved the four-year ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) in its judgment on the appeal process.
However, since the penalty does not come into force until the verdict has been pronounced, no Russian team is allowed to participate in the next two Olympic Games and probably not in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Russia will be excluded from the Olympics in 2021 and 2022
Russia will be largely excluded from world sport for two years and as a nation will not be allowed to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022.
The International Sports Court Cas halved the sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Source: SID
During this period, unaffected athletes from Russia can compete as neutral athletes at major events - the Russian anthem may not be played or sung, the Russian flag may not be worn or hoisted on team clothing.
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One of the prerequisites is that the athletes have not been involved in the state doping scandal.
This applies to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and in Beijing in 2022, as well as for world championships of sports that have signed the Wada code, as well as for so-called "major sports events".
The trigger for the ban was that Russia allegedly manipulated and falsified doping data requested from the Moscow laboratory from 2012 to 2015 before it was handed over to the Wada.
They contain evidence of the sports fraud committed by numerous Russian athletes, which was systematically directed, covered up and covered up with the help of the state.
The Tokyo Olympic Stadium
After just under three years of construction, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened the national stadium 222 days before the original opening of the Olympic Games in 2020.
The 68,000-seat arena was designed by star architect Kengo Kuma.
It stands on the site of the Olympic Stadium from 1964 and cost a total of 1.3 billion euros.
In addition to the opening and closing ceremony, athletics competitions and some football games are also held there.
The stadium uses a special technology to protect spectators and athletes from the heat.
185 large fans and eight smoke machines have been integrated, with greened decks to help.
Team sports: current status for Tokyo 2021
For some German national teams it is already clear: their dream of participating in the Olympics in Tokyo remains unfulfilled.
Others may already plan or still hope.
An overview.
Safe:
Beach volleyball: A maximum of two teams per gender and nation are allowed to start.
Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler are almost certain to be there.
Handball: The men are qualified.
Hockey: Both national teams
Football: The German men qualified for Tokyo at the U21 European Championship.
Missed qualification:
Baseball and softball
Soccer: The women, who were still Olympic champions in 2016, missed the games by losing out in the World Cup quarter-finals against Sweden
Rugby: women and men
Handball: women
Basketball: women
Volleyball: women and men
Water polo
Men's 3x3 basketball
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Still chances:
Basketball: After the World Cup debacle in China, the men's team only has the opportunity to qualify at the end of June.
The team around NBA professional Dennis Schröder has to prove itself in Croatia from June 29 to July 4, 2021.
However, only the tournament winner receives the Tokyo ticket.
3x3 basketball: In May 2021, a qualification tournament will be held in Graz, where the German women still have the chance to get a Tokyo ticket.
Beach volleyball: Niels Ehlers and Lars Flüggen still have to collect points in the World Tour tournaments, but can still make it through the Olympic rankings this way. Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch as well as Karla Borger and Julia Sude have good chances for women. A maximum of two teams per gender and nation are allowed to start. If the qualification via the ranking list does not succeed, the teams can still win a ticket via the Continental Cup: Germany is represented there with a women's and a men's team.