07/22/2021 5:12 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 07/22/2021 9:20 PM
Although the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have already begun for some disciplines, for example football already had the defeat of the Argentina National Team against Australia 2-0, the official opening ceremony will be
this Friday 23 from 8 in the morning
of our country -20 local time-, with a deployment according to the occasion, but adapted to a reality marked by the pandemic and in the midst of a strict sanitary protocol.
"It will be a more sober party, with a beautiful Japanese aesthetic, but also in tune with the current sentiment. Logically there will be no great choreographies. The great challenge will be facing a gala with empty seats," said
Marco Balich
, Executive Director of the Games , without revealing any details of what will happen during the gala, which, as in every edition, is kept in absolute secret.
Balich just highlighted one of the great changes of this ceremony compared to previous editions:
there will be no public in the stands
.
Initially, it was expected that the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, with a capacity for 68,000 spectators, could count on the fervor of the people, but given the complications due to the increase in coronavirus cases, the Olympic Committee announced that they could only be present about a thousand people, a select group of officers and journalists.
General view of the city of Tokyo.
(EFE / Miguel Gutiérrez)
The ceremony will begin with the classic parade of nations in which the athletes of the countries proudly display their flags and tour the stadium alongside athletes from all over the world.
The first delegation will be, as always, that of Greece
, the cradle of the Ancient Olympic Games, and the last, Japan, the host.
The rest of the countries will parade in alphabetical order.
On this occasion, however, only athletes will participate.
Due to the anti-Covid protocol, the coaches and members of the technical bodies will not do it.
The IOC decided that, for the first time in history, the flag bearers should be a man and a woman,
in another attempt to promote gender equality
, which also led that body to modify the traditional Olympic motto.
To the classic phrase "Citius, Altius, Fortius" ("Faster, higher, stronger", in Latin), the term "Communis" was added, which translates as "Together".
On the Argentine side, those who will have the honor of carrying the flag will be Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza, the duo that won the gold medal in the Nacra 17 sailing class in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
An Olympic cauldron located in Tokyo's Yume-no-Ohashi Bridge area awaits covered for the ceremony.
Photo Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
At the end of the parade, the athletes, judges and coaches will take the oath that was adapted to highlight the importance of solidarity, non-discrimination, inclusion and equality.
Then it will be time for the artistic spectacle
- the part of the ceremony that is kept secret - for which the organizing committee promised an impressive show of lights and fireworks.
Finally, it will be the time to light the cauldron -which in this edition will not be inside the stadium, as is customary, but will be located in the coastal area of Tokyo.
And another of the great mysteries of the opening will be revealed: who will be the last bearer of the flame.
The idea of the show will be centered on the concept of encouragement and hope for all the people of the world as well as with the phrase
"United by Emotion"
(United by emotion) as the main statement.
Two women take photos in the surroundings of the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, on the eve of the opening of the Olympic Games.EFE / Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
"We want to carry out ceremonies that unite the world as one through the power of sports and hope for the future. At the opening party, we aspire to reaffirm the role of sport and the value of the Olympic Games to express our gratitude and admiration for all the efforts we have made together in the past year, and also to bring hope for the future. We hope they will be an experience that conveys how we all have the ability to celebrate differences, empathize and live together, with compassion for each other, "the organizing committee described.
The opening ceremony will be televised by TyC Sports and by Public TV from 8 in the morning.
Look also
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, between heritage and the future: all competition venues
The intimacy of Paula Peque Pareto in the preview of the Olympic Games: glory, retirement and medicine
One by one, all the Argentine athletes that will be in Tokyo 2020
