This Friday took place the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics which was held without an audience due to the state of health emergency in force in Japan.
During this very formal ceremony, strong moments came to give a little relief to this parade lasting more than 3 hours.
From Aït Saïd to Naomi Osaka, back to the highlights of this ceremony.
To discover
The full program of the Olympic Games
LIVE - Watch the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
The Aït Saïd show
The first French gymnast in history to be a flag bearer at the Olympic Games, Samir Ait Said was left in a terrible image at the Rio Olympics in 2016 with a broken leg that occurred during the ordeal.
This Friday, he was found under the French flag alongside judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou.
In front of a French delegation full of joy and waving small blue white red flags, Samir Aït Saïd put on a show with a back somersault to definitively launch the Olympic Games for the French team.
Pita Taufatofua back
The Tongan taekwondoist who had caused a sensation on social networks during the opening ceremonies of the Rio Olympics and those of winter in Pyeongchang was perhaps the most anticipated figure of that of Tokyo.
Still shirtless, his body coated with coconut oil and wearing his traditional loincloth, the 37-year-old athlete held the Tonga flag alongside his compatriot Maria Paseka.
On the other hand, this year Pita Tautatofua also had to deal with competition from the rower of Vanuatu, Rio Rii, who also did not hesitate to appear in a loincloth with an oiled chest.
Pita Tautatofua and Maria Paseka, Tonga flag bearer HANNAH MCKAY / AFP
Video game culture in the spotlight
The Rio Games ended with then Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo coming out of a pipe with the Super Mario cap as his headgear.
A nod to the great Japanese video game culture to start the countdown until the Tokyo Olympics, and which continued until the opening ceremony.
Indeed, Olympic athletes paraded on original soundtracks of cult Japanese video games.
In short, we can cite licenses like Final Fantasy, Sonic, Dragon Quest or even Pro Evolution Soccer which recently disappeared in favor of eFootball.
Read also: The Olympic Games launched, the lit cauldron, a magical ballet of drones ... A look back at a sober but moving ceremony
Optional masks for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan
This ceremony and all the Olympics are marked by a very strict health protocol.
All the delegations as well as the officials had to wear the mask and this regulation was respected as a whole except for three nations which stood out.
Indeed, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan had no member of their delegation wearing the mask.
A freedom that the organizers should not have appreciated.
Demonstration before the ceremony
As we know, for weeks the holding of the Olympic Games has been the subject of great debate in Japanese society because of the pandemic but also the costs generated by them.
A poll recently carried out by Asahi recently revealed that 80% of Japanese people are against the organization of the Olympics.
Thousands of Japanese therefore gathered in the streets of Tokyo on the sidelines of the ceremony to protest against the event.
Naomi Osaka lights the flame
Tried to light the Olympic flame, it is the Japanese tennis champion who took care of this symbolic task.
Two months after her withdrawal from Roland-Garros and a few days after the announcement of her Netflix documentary, Naomi Osaka was chosen to launch these Olympics and thus celebrate the diversity, she who was born of a Japanese mother and a father. Haitian.
Naomi Osaka after lighting the Olympic flame LEAH MILLIS / REUTERS
Kevin Durant's fake birthday
In the corridors of the Olympic Stadium, the wait can be long, very long even.
Placed among the last nations to come out because of the Japanese alphabet, the American delegation managed to find a way to pass the time.
This was done at the expense of basketball star Kevin Durant to whom the entire American group began to sing to celebrate his birthday.
Only problem, the MVP of the 2017 and 2018 finals was absolutely not born on August 23 but on September 29.
A joke that left Kevin Durant perplexed, obviously not understanding why the hundreds of athletes sang in his honor.