Olympics Begin With a Somber Opening Ceremony in Near-Empty Tokyo Stadium

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TOKYO — Here’s what you should know about Arisa Tsubata, the woman who ran on a treadmill at the beginning of the Olympic opening ceremony Friday.

She is a nurse who worked at a Tokyo hospital throughout the pandemic.

She is also a boxing champion who was on track to make the Japanese team when COVID-19 hit and organizers postponed the Games. When the delay forced her sport to change its qualifying criteria, her dreams of making the team ended.

Tsubata has had a difficult year.

So it seemed only fitting that she would be the breakout star of the most somber opening ceremony in recent history.

Tsubata’s personal story, like the opening ceremony, reflected the melancholy that threatens to envelop these Olympics. It’s a sadness specific to these Games and to the world as a whole, with neither being easy to rectify.

The International Olympic Committee insists on calling this event Tokyo 2020, as if the last year never happened. There’s no erasing the devastating impact of a pandemic, particularly in a largely unvaccinated country where the number of confirmed cases continues to climb.

Since organizers postponed the competition last year, more than 4 million people worldwide have died from the coronavirus. Reminders of COVID-19′s deadly impact were seen everywhere during the opening ceremony, from the empty seats and signs banning singing to athletes entering the stadium in masks.

First responders played key roles throughout the ceremony. In addition to Tsubata, frontline workers carried the Olympic flag into the stadium and helped carry the torch inside.

One the morning of the ceremony, one of Japan’s most respected newspapers published an editorial blasting the Japanese government and the IOC for holding the competition when polls show as many as 68% of the public doubted the event could be held safely. The headline pulled no punches, referring to “gloom and doom” in the air.

“There is no sense of euphoria or festive mood in the capital,” the editorial read. “Many people must be simply wishing that the event will end without suffering any serious problems.”

At least one man stood in front of Olympic Stadium holding the newspaper up for passing journalists as they entered the building. And as the ceremony started, protesters could be heard outside the arena chanting “Cancel the Olympics” in Japanese.



IOC president Thomas Bach did not mention the opposition during his remarks, instead portraying the Olympics as a balm for the world’s battered soul.

“This Olympic experience makes all of us very humble because we realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves,” Bach said. “We are part of an event that unites the world. United in all our diversity, we become bigger than the sum of our parts. We are always stronger together.”

Bach acknowledged the extraordinary obstacles athletes faced during the past year, in which many lost access to practice facilities and some were forced to consider whether they could afford to stay in their sport for another year.

“You had to face great challenges on your Olympic journey,” he said. “Like all of us, you were living with great uncertainty through the pandemic. You did not know when you could train again. You did not know whether you could see your coach tomorrow. You did not know if your teammates would be with you for the next competition. You did not even know if this competition would take place at all.”

It was easy to empathize with the athletes — those who could attend the ceremony and those who could not. The COVID-19 rules prohibit athletes from entering the Olympic Village until five days before their competition, which meant many could not attend the opening ceremony.

Ethiopia, for example, had just one athlete participate in the parade of nations despite having 54 Olympians qualified. The entire team is set to compete in track events that do not begin until next week, so they aren’t yet allowed in.

Few moments, however, seemed as depressing as when the Japanese delegation entered the arena. One of the most electrifying moments of the Olympics is the roar that goes up when the home country enters the stadium during the opening ceremony.

This year, however, the hometown heroes were greeted with mild applause from the diplomats still paying attention.

In the end, the only seemingly normal moment came when Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua entered the stadium carrying his country’s flag. A taekwondo athlete with an unremarkable international record, Taufatofua caught the world’s attention in 2016 when he wore traditional Tongan garb to the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.

Social media instantly fixated on his bare torso that had been heavily coated in coconut oil.

He came armed with oil again this year. He also came with a message for the world.

“Every sunset is followed by a sunrise,” he said before walking the stadium. “We are in a sunset, but I can guarantee you the sun will rise again after all of this.”