TOKYO, 23 July (BelTA) – The 32nd Summer Olympic Games will kick off with an opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo at 14.00 (Belarus time) on 23 July, BelTA has learned.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic still raging worldwide the stands of the arena, which seats 80,000 spectators, will see just 950 people at the opening ceremony. All of them are official representatives of the delegations. It is still unknown how many athletes will walk into the stadium. In any case, during the Parade of Nations various measures will be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For example, athletes are required to keep social distance and use face masks. The Greek team will enter the arena first, with the Japanese team marching last. Then the athletes, coaches and officials will take the Olympic oath and the Games will be declared open. By tradition, the opening ceremony program is kept strictly secret. However, it is known that the official name of the program is United by Emotion.
The Games in Tokyo were supposed to take place on 24 July-9 August 2020. Due to a new coronavirus infection, the Olympics were moved to 2021, and now the event will be held from 23 July to 8 August. According to the organizers, foreign fans will not be allowed to the stadiums. A similar restriction will apply to local viewers in six Japanese prefectures.
About 12,500 athletes from more than 200 countries will take part in the Games. The 2020 Tokyo will include 339 medal events across 33 sports. The Belarusian team will consist of 108 athletes that will compete in 20 sports. It will be the seventh time the Belarusians will take part in the Summer Games as an independent team. Over the time Belarusian athletes have won 78 medals (12 gold, 27 silver and 39 bronze) in the Summer Olympics.
Belarusian viewers are invited to watch the opening ceremony live on Belarus 1 and Belarus 5 TV channels.
Due to the time zone difference between Tokyo and Minsk, Olympic events will be broadcast live on Belarus 2 and Belarus 5 TV channels and also on Belarus 5. Internet in the morning and in the afternoon - a total of 250 hours of live broadcasting. In the evening, Belarus 5 will offer additional broadcasting of the Olympic highlights.
