The most anticipated Olympic Games in history, delayed for a year by the coronavirus, officially started on Friday in Tokyo: the three shots of this fortnight of sport were given during a sober, sometimes serious opening ceremony , in the still heavy context of the pandemic.
"I declare open the Tokyo Games", solemnly declared the Emperor of Japan Naruhito, in the formula consecrated and eagerly awaited by the sports movement since Tokyo was designated host city of the Olympics-2020 in September 2013. In one world remaining under the threat of Covid-19, the opening ceremony did not have the festive character it normally has, and that it had in particular in Rio in 2016 to samba tunes.
Tribute to the heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic
It is indeed the Covid which dominated this ceremony, between tribute to the nursing staff, with this nurse chosen among the bearers of a huge Japanese flag, a video of athletes training alone, in reference to the competitions stopped dead by the pandemic , and an unprecedented parade of masked sportsmen and women observing, for the most part, the rules of social distancing.
This particular context was also at the heart of Thomas Bach's speech, who praised the resilience of Japan and the athletes: "Today is a moment of hope. Yes, it is very different from what we all imagined. But let's take advantage of this moment, because finally we are all gathered here (...) This feeling of unity is the light at the end of the dark tunnel of this pandemic ", insisted the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The curtain-raiser of these Games of the XXXII Olympiad, also enamelled with fireworks, modern dance paintings, technological feats with a terrestrial globe formed in the Tokyo sky by drones and representations of traditional Japanese arts , took place in front of almost empty stands while the Tokyo Olympic Stadium can accommodate 68,000 spectators in normal times.
Empty grandstands
Among the few thousand privileged present, French President Emmanuel Macron and the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden who followed the parade of 206 delegations lined up for the first time and for the vast majority as now authorized by the IOC behind two flag bearers, a woman and a man.
When they entered the stadium, no applause or cheers, but the athletes still greeted the empty stands and some delegations, more joyful and numerous than others, such as Argentina, the Dominican Republic or the France, whose flag bearer Samir Aït Saïd did a back somersault in front of his teammates who sang the Marseillaise, took full advantage of the event, often unique in the career of an athlete. As in Rio in 2016 and for the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018, Tongan Pita Taufatofua caused a sensation by parading topless, his body oiled, while NBA star Kevin Durant was drowned in the American delegation.
Before the start of the ceremony, hundreds of curious people had thronged around the stadium to have their photos taken, while a dozen anti-Olympics protesters made their voices heard and their hostility to this event which cost Japan 13 billion euros, including an additional cost of 2.3 billion due to the postponement of one year. These Games, which almost did not take place, are definitely not a normal event in Olympic history.