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The Olympic rings on the Odaiba waterfront in Tokyo are pictured. (Xinhua/Yonhap News)

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics finally opened at the Japan National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on Friday, despite numerous obstacles, including a one-year delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this year’s games, 339 gold medals are up for grabs in 33 sports. Competing this year are teams from the 204 National Olympic Committees that are part of the International Olympic Committee, except for North Korea, which decided to stay home this year. The Refugee Olympic Team will also be returning after its first appearance in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

This is the first time in 57 years, since 1964, for the Summer Olympics to be held in Japan.

Both the unprecedented postponement of the games because of the pandemic and an endless debate about whether they should be canceled make this global sporting spectacle unlike anything that has come before.

The same could be said about the opening ceremony. The Japan National Stadium, which has a capacity of over 68,000 people, will be almost empty during the ceremony.

As late as early July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government were considering letting spectators attend Olympic events. But as COVID-19 cases spiked in Japan — and Tokyo in particular — the authorities ultimately decided that only VIPs and staff could enter the stands.

That should make the opening ceremony the quietest in the history of the Olympics.

The parade of nations, regarded as a highlight of the opening ceremony, is also being pared down. While the IOC hasn’t capped the number of athletes who can take part, various countries’ teams have looked into minimizing their presence in the parade.

South Korea is sending 354 people (232 athletes and 122 staff) to compete in 29 sports, but given their physical condition and safety issues, Korea only plans to have 32 people (including 26 athletes) take part in the parade. That will include flag bearers Kim Yeon-gyeong (women’s volleyball) and Hwang Seon-woo (men’s swimming). Korea will be the 103rd country to enter the stadium.

The opening ceremony itself is being downsized. It will likely include a time to remember the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and those who have died of COVID-19 from around the world.

The opening ceremony isn’t the only event that will be low-key. Spectators will be absent from 96% of the sporting events. That means that most of the athletes will have to compete without their family members cheering them on.

Awards ceremonies will also take place in silence. Athletes will have to wear masks and put their medals around their own necks. The authorities have banned hugs and even the ubiquitous practice of biting the medals before the cameras. Handshakes are prohibited as well.

Athletes that have finished all their events will have 48 hours to leave the Olympic Village. That means we won’t get to see them heading to other stadiums to cheer on their compatriots in the games this year.

As the COVID-19 situation continues to deteriorate, there’s even talk about the Olympics being halted before they conclude. That’s just one more bizarre facet of the 18 days of masked sports scheduled to take place until the closing ceremony on Aug. 8.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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