Opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Seiko Hashimoto, President of the Games Organizing Committee, and Bach, President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), greeted after the admission of 205 national and regional athletes.

The full text of the greeting.

Full text of Chairman Hashimoto's speech

With the attendance of His Majesty the Emperor, I would like to extend my greetings to the opening of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Welcome to Japan, welcome to IOC President Bach, members of the committee, guests from all over the world, people from all over the world who are watching this opening ceremony, and welcome to Tokyo. We sincerely welcome you.


The Tokyo Games will start today in the midst of the big challenge of postponing the first time in the history of the Olympic Games. Hopes were connected one by one by the hands of many people, and this day was celebrated today.


We would like to express our respect and gratitude to all those who are working hard every day to overcome this difficulty, including medical professionals, as the world is in a difficult situation of corona.


We would also like to thank all the Japanese people who accepted the event, the IOC, the Government of Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and all the people concerned who worked together to make the event a reality.


Looking back, 10 years ago, when we were about to reach the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused us Japanese to face great difficulties and deep suffering.


I was about to lose the power to stand up and move forward. At that time, people from all over the world reached out. "Now, let's move forward together."


Ten years have passed since then, and we can show here the image of Japan being reconstructed. Once again, I would like to thank all of you.


At that time, the question was how sports and athletes could play a role in society. And today, as the world faces difficulties, the power of sports and the significance of the Olympics are being questioned again.


Athletes from all over the world, Japanese and all over the world gathered at the Olympic Stadium under the banner of the Olympics.

Recognizing, respecting and uniting with each other, this landscape is the very future of diversity and harmony.


This is the power of sports and the value and essence of the Olympics.

And this scenery is also our ideal figure for peace.


With the Olympics, the truce resolution period has begun.

For those who are still living in the distant reality of the ideal of peace, it may be a salvation for peace, even if only a little.

This is also an important value that only the Olympics have.

At this very moment, I pray for peace to those who are suffering from war and are at the mercy of conflict.


Athletes.

Thank you for gathering on this stage.


We are now encouraged by the way we look forward and continue our efforts, never stopping even in difficult times.


As the same athlete, I am proud of all the athletes in the world.

And I would like to praise you.

The trajectory you have drawn so far, believing in yourself and moving forward, will be a great and irreplaceable treasure for your own future.


Please go on stage with confidence.

Now is the time to show the power of athletes and sports.

I believe that it is this power that can regain hope for people and unite the world.

The world is waiting for you.


We, the Organizing Committee, will do our utmost to support this stage until the end so that this Tokyo Games, which has been held for the first time in half a century, will be a tournament that we can be proud of for posterity.


Thank you very much.

Full speech by Chairman Bach

(In English)


Dear Athletes, His Majesty the Emperor Yoshitaka Suga Prime Minister Yuriko Koike Tokyo Organizing Committee Chairman Seiko Hashimoto Welcome to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.


Today is the moment of hope. Yes, it's completely different from what we imagined. Let's cherish this moment when we are gathering here now.


Athletes from the 205 national and regional Olympic Committees and refugee teams live under one roof in the Olympic Village.


This is the power of sports to become one. This is a message of solidarity, a message of peace, and a message of power to rise from difficulties. This gives hope for our further journey.


It is thanks to the Japanese people who host us that we can all get together here. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and respect.


The Organizing Committee and all Japanese agencies have made very good preparations. We would like to express our sincere gratitude on behalf of the athletes participating in the Olympic Games.


Ten years ago, following the outstanding Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, you embarked on a journey to bring the spirit of the Olympics back to Tokyo.


It was a difficult journey with unprecedented challenges of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and coronavirus infection.


That is why our gratitude and praise for all of you are even greater. We would like to thank the unsung heroes, doctors and nurses, and all the Japanese people for their efforts to contain this infection.


And I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the volunteers and many who have welcomed us from the bottom of my heart while facing all the challenges.


You are the best ambassadors in Japan. Thank you to all the volunteers!


It


is thanks to everyone in Japan that we can hold the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

(in Japanese)

. I am sincerely grateful.

The indomitable spirit of the Japanese


(in English)


also applies to Olympic athletes. On this trip to the Olympics, you, like us, have lived in great uncertainty due to the spread of the infection.


I didn't know when I could train again. I didn't even know if I could meet my coach tomorrow. I wasn't sure if my teammates could join us in the next tournament.


On the contrary, I had no idea if the next tournament would be held.


You struggled, endured, never gave up, and today you have realized your Olympic dreams.


You are true Olympic athletes. You have inspired us at the IOC and the entire Olympic community. We have inspired us to fight like you and make this moment for you. That is why I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all national and regional Olympic Commissions, International Sports Federations, all TOP partners, partners and broadcast rights holders for their cooperation. This has made us all a true community, the Olympic community.


Dear athletes. This Olympic community will be with you tonight and during the Olympic Games. Billions of people from all over the world are crazy about the screen and send you enthusiasm, energy and cheers.


Our Olympic community has learned that only when we stand together can we cope with the great challenges of this era.


What we have learned is that we need more solidarity. We need more solidarity within society and more solidarity between societies. Solidarity means more than just respect and lack of discrimination. Solidarity means helping, sharing, and caring. This is what we do in the Olympic community.


We stand up, solidarity, realize the Olympic Games, from the Olympic Committees of countries and regions around the world, from all Olympic sports, big and small and with or without money, to your Olympic Games. Participation has been realized.


This solidarity accelerates our mission to make the world a better place through sport. Thanks to this solidarity, we can be here together tonight.


Solidarity also reflects the Olympic's commitment to peace, which has a history of 3,000 years. Without solidarity, there is no peace. In the spirit of this Olympics of solidarity and peace, we welcome the IOC refugee team.


Dear refugee athletes. With your talent and human spirit, you show what refugees bring to society. You had to flee your homeland simply because of violence, hunger, or because you were different.


Today, we open our arms to welcome you and provide you with a peaceful home.


Welcome to our Olympic community.

In this Olympic community we are all equal.

We all respect the same rules.


In this Olympic experience, we realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and put ourselves in a humble position.


We are part of an event that connects the world.

By uniting in diversity, we are greater than our own sum.

We can always be strong together.

That is why we are so grateful to our athletes.


We thank you for your commitment to the Olympic values ​​of solidarity, non-discrimination, non-doping sport, inclusion and equality in our new oath.

We have no choice but to go faster, we have to aim higher, we have to be stronger.

If you stand together in solidarity.


This is why the IOC has adapted the Olympic motto to our time.


Faster, higher, stronger, together.


This sense of unity is the light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel.


The pandemic divided us.

Keep a distance from each other.

I even want to stay away from my loved ones.

This division made this tunnel very dark.


But today, wherever you are in the world, we are united by sharing this moment together.

The torch makes this light shine brighter.


I am very honored to invite His Majesty the Emperor to declare that he will hold the 32nd Modern Olympiad Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.


(in Japanese)


I would like to express my sincere gratitude to His Majesty the Emperor for the opening declaration.