The , officially the and also known as , was an international
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the
host city during the
125th IOC Session
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...
in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina, on 7 September 2013. The Games were originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, but due to the global
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, on 24 March 2020, the event was postponed to 2021, the first such instance in the history of the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
(previous games had been cancelled but not rescheduled).
However, the event retained the ''Tokyo 2020'' branding for marketing purpose.
[Multiple sources:
*
*
*] It was largely held
behind closed doors with no public spectators permitted due to the declaration of a state of emergency in the
Greater Tokyo Area
The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...
in response to the pandemic, the first and so far only Olympic Games to be held without official spectators. The Games were the most expensive ever, with total spending of over $20 billion.
The 2020 Games were the fourth Olympic Games to be held in Japan, following the
1964 Summer Olympics (Tokyo),
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...
(Sapporo), and
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
(Nagano). Tokyo became the first city in Asia to hold the Summer Games twice. The 2020 Games were the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
, following the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
in
Pyeongchang, South Korea and preceding the
2022 Winter Olympics in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China. Due to the one-year postponement, Tokyo 2020 was the only Olympic Games to have been held in an odd-numbered year and the first Summer Olympics since the
1900 Games to be held in a
non-leap year.
New events were introduced in existing sports for 2020, including
3x3 basketball
3x3 basketball (pronounced ''three-ex-three'') is a variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one backboard and in a half-court setup. According to an ESSEC Business School study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, 3x3 ...
,
freestyle BMX Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced t ...
and mixed gender team events in a number of existing sports, as well as the return of
madison cycling for men and an introduction of the same event for women. New IOC policies also allowed the host organizing committee to add new sports to the
Olympic program for just one Games. The disciplines added by the
Japanese Olympic Committee
The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...
were
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
and
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
,
sport climbing
Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...
,
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
and
skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
, the last four of which made their Olympic debuts, and the last three of which will remain on the Olympic program.
The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
topped the
medal count by both total golds (39) and total medals (113), with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
finishing second by both respects (38 and 89). Host nation
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
finished third, setting a record for the most gold medals and total medals ever won by their delegation at an Olympic Games with 27 and 58.
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
finished fourth, with a total of 22 gold and 64 medals. The
Russian delegation competing as the
ROC finished fifth with 20 gold medals and third in the overall medal count, with 71 medals.
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
won their first-ever Olympic gold medals.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
,
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
and
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
won their first-ever Olympic medals.
Bidding process
The three candidate cities were
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, and
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. The applicant cities of
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
and
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
were not promoted to candidate status. A
bid from Rome was withdrawn.
Host city selection
The
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) voted to select the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympics on 7 September 2013, at the
125th IOC Session
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...
in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina, using an
exhaustive ballot
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate is supported by an overall majority of votes then the candid ...
system.
None of the candidate cities won more than 50% of the votes in the first round; Madrid and Istanbul were tied for second place, so a runoff vote was held to determine which of the two cities would be eliminated. The final vote was a head-to-head contest between Tokyo and Istanbul. Tokyo was selected by 60 votes to 36, gaining at least the 49 votes required for a majority.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
![Shibuya Crossing 2020-04-19 (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Shibuya_Crossing_2020-04-19_%282%29.jpg)
In January 2020, concerns were raised about the potential impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
on athletes and visitors to the Olympic Games.
Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee insisted they were monitoring the spread of the disease to minimize its effects on preparations for the Olympics. The IOC stated that in 2020, their Japanese partners and Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Lib ...
"made it very clear that Japan could not manage a postponement beyond next summer
021at the latest". Unlike the
case for Zika virus during the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio de Janeiro,
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
can be transmitted directly between humans, posing tougher challenges for the organizers to counteract the infectious disease and host a safe and secure event.
Also unlike the
case for H1N1 "swine flu" during the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in Vancouver, COVID-19 has a higher fatality rate, and there was no
effective vaccine until December 2020. In a February 2020 interview,
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey argued that London would be able to host the Olympic Games at the former
2012 Olympic venues should the Games need to be moved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike
is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1976 and was a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 1993 until 2016, when she resigned to ...
criticized Bailey's comment as inappropriate. In early 2021, officials in the U.S. state of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
offered to host the delayed Games in their state, while
John Coates, the IOC vice president in charge of the Tokyo Olympics, said the Games would open even if the city and other parts of Japan were under a state of emergency because of COVID-19.
Estimates by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
predicted that states of emergency might be required during the Games. The reports published at the Ministry of Health experts' panel also showed new patients increasing to 10,000 if the Games were to allow spectators.
Qualifying event cancellation and postponement
Concerns about the pandemic began to affect qualifying events in early 2020. Some that were due to take place in February were moved to alternative locations to address concerns about travelling to the affected areas, particularly China. For example, the
women's basketball qualification was played in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Serbia, instead of
Foshan
Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
, China. The
Asia & Oceania boxing qualification tournament, which was originally planned to be held from 3–14 February in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, China (the location of the original outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic), instead took place in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, Jordan, at the beginning of March. The third round of the
women's football qualification tournament was also affected, as the group matches formerly scheduled to be held in China were moved to Australia. The
European boxing qualification began on 14 March 2020 in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom, but was suspended after two days of competition before being rescheduled for April 2021. It eventually resumed in June 2021 but was moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, because of renewed concerns over
travel to the United Kingdom. Other qualifying events that were due to take place in March to June 2020 began to be postponed until later in the year and mid-2021 as part of a wider suspension of international sporting competitions in response to the pandemic. A multitude of Olympic sports were affected, including archery, baseball, cycling, handball, judo, rowing, sailing, volleyball, and water polo.
Effect on doping tests
Mandatory doping tests were being severely restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. European anti-doping organizations raised concerns that blood and urine tests could not be performed and that mobilizing the staff necessary to do so before the end of the pandemic would be a health risk. Despite the need for extensive testing to take place in advance of the Games, the
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
(WADA) stated that public health and safety were their topmost priorities.
The Chinese anti-doping agency temporarily ceased testing on 3 February 2020, with a planned resumption of phased testing towards the end of the month, and the anti-doping organizations in the United States, France, Great Britain, and Germany had reduced their testing activities by the end of March.
Postponement to 2021
The
(TOCOG) released a statement on 2 March 2020, confirming that preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics were "continuing as planned". On 23 March, both Canada and Australia indicated that they would withdraw from the Games if they were not postponed by a year. On the same day, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe stated he would support a proposed postponement, citing that ensuring athlete safety was "paramount," and veteran IOC member and former vice president
Dick Pound
Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming (sport), swimming champion, lawyer, and Spokesperson, spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti ...
said that he expected the Games to be postponed.
On 24 March 2020, 122 days to go for the planned start, the IOC, TOCOG and prime minister Abe released a joint statement announcing that the 2020 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
would be rescheduled to a date "beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021". They stated that the Games could "stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times", and that the
Olympic flame
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...
could become "the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present".
Prime Minister Abe stated that IOC president
Thomas Bach
Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...
responded "with 100% agreement" to his proposal to delay the Games. For continuity and marketing purposes, it was agreed that the Games would still be branded as Tokyo 2020 despite the change in schedule.
On 30 March 2020, the IOC and TOCOG announced that they had reached an agreement on the new dates for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would now begin with the opening ceremony on 23 July 2021 and end with the closing ceremony on 8 August 2021, still to be held in Tokyo.
The subsequent
Winter Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to begin on 4 February 2022, less than six months later. Shortly before the postponement was confirmed, the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organizers formed a task force named "Here We Go" with the remit to address any issues arising from postponing the Games, such as sponsorship and accommodation. The organizers confirmed that all athletes who had already qualified for Tokyo 2020 would keep their qualification slots.
Calls for cancellation
Health experts expressed concern in April 2020 that the Games might have to be cancelled if the pandemic should persist. In an interview, the then president of TOCOG and former Japanese prime minister,
Yoshirō Mori
is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan between April 2000 and April 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his ...
, asserted that the Games would be "scrapped" if they could not go ahead in 2021.
On 29 April 2020, Prime Minister Abe stated that the Games "must be held in a way that shows the world has won its battle against the coronavirus pandemic". Thomas Bach acknowledged in an interview on 20 May 2020, that the job of reorganizing the Tokyo Games was "a mammoth task" and also admitted that the event would have to be cancelled altogether if it could not take place in the summer of 2021.
However, both Mori and Bach expressed optimism about the Games going ahead.
A member of the Japanese COVID-19 Advisory Committee on the basic action policy co-authored a ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' editorial, which stated, "holding Tokyo 2020 for domestic political and economic purposes—ignoring scientific and moral imperatives—is contradictory to Japan's commitment to global health and human security".
On 21 January 2021, multiple sources reported that the Japanese government had "privately concluded" that the Games would have to be cancelled. The government dismissed the claims, stating that the reports were "categorically untrue". The new Japanese prime minister
Yoshihide Suga
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2020 to 2021. He had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fro ...
confirmed on 19 February that the
G7 had given unanimous support for the postponed Games to go ahead as scheduled. It was reported in April 2021, just three months before the start of the Games, that there was still the option to cancel the Tokyo Olympics with the country having vaccinated less than 1% of its population, with tens of thousands of volunteers expected to take part and athletes not being required to quarantine after arriving in Japan.
Public support for the Games in Japan decreased significantly amid a 2021 surge in
COVID-19 cases in the country. Multiple organizations of medical professionals voiced oppositions to the Games,
while an opinion poll in April 2021 saw 40% of participants support the cancellation of the Games, and 33% support a second postponement. In May 2021, 83% of those polled supported the cancellation or postponement of the Games. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association called for the cancellation, stating that hospitals in Tokyo "have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity" in an open letter to the prime minister. At least nine out of 47 elected governors supported the cancellation of the Games. Nearly 37% of Japanese companies surveyed supported the cancellation of the Games, and 32% supported postponement.
Kenji Utsunomiya
is a Japanese lawyer and former chair of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
Overviews
He spent much of his career helping debtors overcome the burden of multiple loans. He was the head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations from 20 ...
, who had previously run for Governor of Tokyo, collected more than 351,000 signatures on a petition calling for the organisers to "prioritise life" over the Olympics. Japanese writers
Jiro Akagawa and
Fuminori Nakamura also called for the Games to be postponed or cancelled.
On 26 May 2021, the newspaper, which was a local sponsor of the Games, published an editorial calling for Prime Minister Suga to "calmly and objectively assess the situation and decide on the cancellation of the event this summer." On 4 June it was reported that Japanese sponsors proposed to the organisers for "the Games to be postponed for several months," citing a comment by a corporate sponsor senior executive: "It just makes much, much more sense from our perspective to hold the Games when there are more vaccinated people, the weather is cooler and maybe public opposition is lower."
In July 2021, it was announced that all events in Tokyo were to be held
behind closed doors with no spectators due to a new state of emergency. A poll by the found that 55% of those surveyed supported the cancellation of the Olympics, and 68% felt that organisers would not be able to suitably control COVID-19 at the Games.
The decision was also detrimental to local sponsors, which had planned in-person presences to promote their products during the Games; an executive of official sponsor
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
stated that the company had pulled a television advertising campaign it had planned for the Games in Japan, citing that the Olympics were "becoming an event that has not gained the public's understanding."
Had the games been cancelled, it would have been the first time since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
that an Olympic event had been called off and the first games to be scrapped due to circumstances unrelated to war. A complete cancellation would have also cost Japan trillion (billion), based on operating expenses and
loss of tourism activity.
Costs and insurance
According to an estimate conducted by professor emeritus Katsuhiro Miyamoto of
Kansai University
, abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...
and reported by the
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
in March 2020, the cost of delaying the 2020 Olympics by one year would be 640.8 billion yen (
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
5.8 billion), taking maintenance expenditures for the unused facilities into account.
The
Nomura Research Institute
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI; Japanese: 株式会社野村総合研究所 or 野村総研 for short) is the largest economic research and consulting firm in Japan, and a member of the Nomura Group. Established in 1965, the firm now empl ...
estimated that cancelling the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021 would cost around 1.81 trillion yen ($17 billion), less than the economic damages projected if another state of emergency is declared, noting that a decision to hold the games "should be made based on the impact on infection risks, not from the standpoint of economic loss".
The Tokyo Games were protected through the commercial insurance marketplace
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
, by global reinsurers
Munich Re
Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...
and
Swiss Re
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...
. The IOC takes out around $800 million of insurance for each Summer Olympics, with the total amount of loss insured for the 2020 Games likely to be more than $2 billion. The disruption caused by postponing the Games was covered by the insurance policy, with those likely to make claims for their financial losses including local organizers, sponsors, hospitality firms, and travel providers.
Holders of tickets purchased from overseas prior to postponement were entitled to refunds for both Olympic and Paralympic ticket purchases, except for the costs of cancelled hotel bookings. Although about 600,000 Olympic tickets and 300,000 Paralympic tickets were eligible to be refunded, organizers said that they would not release the total costs of the refunds. Reuters quoted industry sources who estimated that the Tokyo Olympics Committee had taken out US$500–800 million in insurance, and that after accounting for costs such as rebooking sporting venues and the Olympic Village, little of that payout would be available to recoup the proceeds of lost and refunded ticket sales. The local organizers are responsible for ticket sales and use them to defray the costs of holding the games; ticket sales were expected to bring in approximately US$800 million, but actual sales were close to zero.
In June 2022, the Tokyo Organizing Committee revealed in the final budget report for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics that the cost for the Olympic Games was 640.4 billion yen (US$5.8 billion ), which higher than the cost for the
Rio 2016
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
Public opinion and COVID-19 effect during and after the Games
Prior to the Tokyo Olympics being held, many Japanese people were negative about hosting the event, but their attitudes had become more positive towards the end of the Games. According to a public opinion poll conducted jointly by the
Nippon News Network
Nippon News Network (NNN) is a Japanese commercial television network owned by Nippon Television, which itself is controlled by the ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' newspaper. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news ...
and the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
'' newspaper, which targeted Japanese citizens at the end of the Olympics, 38% of respondents said that it was possible to hold the Olympics in a safe manner against COVID-19, while 55% said that it was not possible. However, 64% answered that it was good that the Tokyo Games had gone ahead, while 28% answered that they wished the event had not been held. Of the respondents, 61% were glad the event had been held without spectators and only 12% said that spectators should have been allowed.
On 29 July, less than a week into the Games, journalist Masaki Kubota reported his analysis of the Japanese people's perspective on the Olympics, which he believed was greatly influenced by the change in the way the Japanese news media reported on the Games. He pointed out that many Japanese news media had insisted on canceling the Olympics, citing fears that COVID-19 would spread, but once Japanese athletes started winning medals, the media changed their reporting policy and began livening up the Olympics, which had the effect of altering public opinion in Japan.
Once the Tokyo Olympics were underway, followed by the
Tokyo Paralympics, there was a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Japan, especially those caused by the
Delta variant
The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...
. On 26 July, there were 60,157 cases detected in Japan, breaking the record of 44,961 cases recorded on 10 May. On 9 August, one day after the Olympics had ended, daily cases in Japan reached 100,000 for the first time, and new cases continued to increase until the peak on 23 August, when 156,931 cases were recorded.
Development and preparation
![Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games- Monument of Olympic Rings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Tokyo_2020_Olympic_Games-_Monument_of_Olympic_Rings.jpg)
The Tokyo Organizing Committee was originally headed by former Japanese prime minister Yoshirō Mori, but he resigned in February 2021 due to backlash from sexist comments about women in meetings.
Seiko Hashimoto
is a Japanese politician, former speed skater and track cyclist. She has the most Olympic appearances of any Japanese athlete except Noriaki Kasai, representing her native country in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1984 to 1994 and in ...
was chosen to succeed him.
Tamayo Marukawa
is a Japanese politician and former announcer of TV Asahi, who serves as a member of the House of Councillors of the National Diet (parliament of Japan). She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. She served as the head of the Women's A ...
, Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, was responsible for overseeing the preparations on behalf of the Japanese government.
The
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan government ...
set aside a fund of ¥400 billion (more than US$3.67 billion) to cover the cost of hosting the Games. The
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
was considering easing airspace restrictions to allow an increased
slot
Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to:
People
* Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch footballer
* Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist
* Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician
* Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch association football coach wh ...
capacity at both
Haneda
, officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
and
Narita airports. A new railway line was planned to link both airports through an expansion of
Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...
, cutting travel time from Tokyo Station to Haneda from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and from Tokyo Station to Narita from 55 minutes to 36 minutes; funded primarily by private investors, the line would cost ¥400 billion. The
East Japan Railway Company
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
(JR East) was also planning a new route near
Tamachi
is the informal name for the area surrounding Tamachi Station in Minato, Tokyo, generally referring to the districts of Shiba, Shibaura, and Mita.
History
During the Edo period Tamachi was a ''hatamoto'' residential quarter. Rice cultivation ...
to Haneda Airport.
There were plans to fund the accelerated completion of the
Central Circular Route
The , signed as Route C2, is one of the routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the central part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The route is a circumferential highway running through the outer wards of Tokyo. The route is the middle of fou ...
,
Tokyo Gaikan Expressway
The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
Overview
The name Gaikan refers to the route's status as an outer ring road (beltway) for Tokyo. The expressway is also referred to simply as Ga ...
, and
Ken-Ō Expressway
The , or , is a partially completed ticket system toll expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company and East Nippon Expressway Company. In conjunction with the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line and the Bayshore Route ...
, and the refurbishment of other major expressways in the area. The
Yurikamome
, formerly the , is an automated guideway transit service operated by ''Yurikamome, Inc.'', connecting Shimbashi to Toyosu, via the artificial island of Odaiba in Tokyo, Japan, a market in which it competes with the Rinkai Line.
The line is name ...
automated transit line was also to be extended from its existing terminal at
Toyosu Station
is a railway station in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro and Yurikamome.
Lines
Toyosu Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line subway and the Yurikamome.
Station layout
The station consists of an underground metro sta ...
to a new terminal at
Kachidoki Station
is a subway station on the Toei Ōedo Line in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei).
Lines
Kachidoki Station is served by the Toei Ōedo Line, and is numbered "E-17".
S ...
, passing the site of the Olympic Village, although the line was not expected to have adequate capacity to serve major events in the
Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded durin ...
area on its own.
In April 2018, the Tokyo Organizing Committee signed a partnership with the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
to ensure
decent work
Decent work is employment that "respects the fundamental rights of the human person as well as the rights of workers in terms of conditions of work safety and remuneration. ... respect for the physical and mental integrity of the worker in the ...
in the preparation of and during the 2020 Olympic Games.
In June 2020, the chief executive of the Organizing Committee,
Toshirō Mutō is the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan.
On March 7, 2008, the government of Japan announced that it planned to nominate him for promotion to replace Toshihiko Fukui as governor. Fukui's term was to expire on March 19. His nomination ...
, stated that the committee was exploring options for streamlining the Games to achieve cost savings. On 25 September, the IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee agreed to a suite of measures to simplify the Games' logistics, including a cut to non-athlete staff, use of online meetings, and streamlined transport, among others. The committee also outlined areas it would be exploring in order to maintain the health and safety of all participants.
Venues and infrastructure
![New national stadium tokyo 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/New_national_stadium_tokyo_1.jpg)
In February 2012, it was announced that Tokyo's former
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
, the central venue for the
1964 Summer Olympics, would undergo a ¥100 billion renovation for the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
and the 2020 Summer Olympics. In November 2012, the Japan Sport Council announced that it was taking bids for proposed stadium designs. Of the 46 finalists,
Zaha Hadid Architects
Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London.
Architectural work Conceptual projects
*Price Tower extension hybrid project (2002), B ...
was awarded the project, which would replace the old stadium with
a new 80,000-seat stadium. There was criticism of the Zaha Hadid design—which was compared to a
bicycle helmet
A bicycle helmet is a type of helmet designed to attenuate impacts to the head of a cyclist in falls while minimizing side effects such as interference with peripheral vision. There is ongoing scientific research into the degree of protection ...
and regarded as clashing with the surrounding
Meiji Shrine
, is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
History
Af ...
—and widespread disapproval of the costs, even with attempts to revise and "optimize" the design.
In June 2015, the government announced plans to reduce the new stadium's permanent capacity to 65,000 in its athletics configuration (although with the option to add up to 15,000 temporary seats for football) as a further cost-saving measure. The original plan to build a retractable roof was also abandoned. At the end of 2015, as a result of public opposition to the increasing costs of the new stadium (which had reached ¥252 billion), the government chose to reject Zaha Hadid's design entirely and selected a new design by Japanese architect
Kengo Kuma
is a Japanese architect and professor in the Department of Architecture (Graduate School of Engineering) at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolific writings ...
. Inspired by traditional temples and with a lower profile, Kuma's design had a budget of ¥149 billion. The changes meant the new stadium could not be completed in time for the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
as originally intended. The National Stadium, which was inaugurated on 21 December 2019, was named the Olympic Stadium for the duration of the Tokyo Games.
In October 2018, the
Board of Audit
The reviews government expenditures and submits an annual report to the National Diet, Diet. Article 90 of the Constitution of Japan and the Board of Audit Act of 1947 give this body substantial independence from both Cabinet (government), cabin ...
issued a report stating that the total cost of the Olympic venues could exceed US$25 billion.
Of the 33 competition venues in Tokyo, 28 were within of the Olympic Village, with eleven new venues to be constructed. On 16 October 2019, the IOC announced that there were plans to re-locate the marathon and racewalking events to
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
for heat concerns. The plans were made official on 1 November 2019 after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike accepted the IOC's decision, despite her belief that the events should have remained in Tokyo.
Security
In December 2018, the Japanese government chose to ban drones from flying over venues being used for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A similar ban was also imposed for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which Japan also hosted. In January 2020, counterterrorism drills began in different parts where the Games would take place, after intelligence data showed that terrorist groups could have carried out an attack seeking worldwide attention. In July 2021, prior to the start of the Games, the
Japan Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...
conducted
counterterrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
drills in the
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...
. The drill consisted of two
inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull is often flexible, while for boats longer than , the floor typically consist ...
s trying to stop a suspicious ship from getting to shore.
Volunteers
Applications for volunteering at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were accepted beginning on 26 September 2018. By 18 January 2019, a total of 204,680 applications had been received by the Tokyo Organizing Committee. Interviews to select the requisite number of volunteers began in February 2019, with training scheduled to take place in October 2019. The volunteers at the venues were to be known as "Field Cast", and the volunteers in the city were to be known as "City Cast". These names were chosen from a
shortlist
A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...
of four from an original 150 pairs of names; the other three shortlisted names were "Shining Blue" and "Shining Blue Tokyo", "Games Anchor" and "City Anchor", and "Games Force" and "City Force". The names were chosen by the people who had applied to be volunteers at the Games.
As of early June 2021, approximately 10,000 out of the 80,000 registered volunteers resigned from the Games. Media attributed the rise in pandemic cases as the reason for massive quitting. More volunteer assignments were expected to be cancelled due to the spectator ban.
Medals
![Mykhailo Romanchuk on the podium at Tokyo 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Mykhailo_Romanchuk_on_the_podium_at_Tokyo_2020.jpg)
In February 2017, the Tokyo Organizing Committee announced an
electronics recycling
Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Inform ...
program in partnership with Japan Environmental Sanitation Center and
NTT Docomo, soliciting donations of electronics such as mobile phones to be reclaimed as materials for the medals. Aiming to collect eight tonnes of metals to produce the medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, collection boxes were deployed at public locations and NTT Docomo retail shops in April 2017. A design competition for the medals was launched in December of that year.
In May 2018, the organizing committee reported that they had obtained half the required 2,700 kilograms of bronze but were struggling to obtain the required amount of silver; although bronze and silver medals purely utilize their respective materials, IOC requirements mandate that gold medals utilize silver as a base. The collection of bronze was completed in November 2018, with the remainder estimated to have been completed by March 2019.
On 24 July 2019 (one year ahead of the originally scheduled opening ceremony), the designs of the medals were unveiled.
The medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games were designed by Junichi Kawanishi following a nationwide competition. A new feature shared with the
Paralympic medals is that the ribbons contain one, two, or three
silicone convex lines to distinguish gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.
Torch relay
The slogan of the 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay was "Hope Lights Our Way".
As determined by a 2009 IOC ruling that banned international torch relays for any future Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics torch was scheduled to only visit the two countries of Greece and the host nation Japan. The first phase of the relay began on 12 March 2020, with the traditional flame lighting ceremony at the
Temple of Hera in
Olympia, Greece
Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ολυμπία ; grc, Ὀλυμπία ), officially Archaia Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Αρχαία Ολυμπία; grc, Ἀρχαία Ὀλυμπία, links=no; "Ancient Olympia"), is a small town in E ...
. The torch then travelled to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, where the Greek leg of the relay culminated in a handover ceremony at the
Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , Literal translation, lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium ...
on 19 March, during which the torch was transferred to the Japanese contingent.
The flame was placed inside a special lantern and transported from
Athens International Airport
Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών «Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος», ''Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón "Elefthérios Venizélos"''), commonly initialised as ...
on a chartered flight to
Higashimatsushima
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,580 in 16102 households, and a population density of 390 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Higashi-Matsushima (lit. "East Mats ...
in Japan. The torch was then expected to begin the second phase of its journey on 20 March, as it traveled for one week around the three most affected areas of the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
—
Miyagi Miyagi may refer to:
Places
* Miyagi Prefecture, one of the 47 major divisions of Japan
* Miyagi, Gunma, a village in Japan, merged into Maebashi in 2004
*Miyagi District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Other uses
* Miyagi (surna ...
,
Iwate and
Fukushima
may refer to:
Japan
* Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture
** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
***Fukushima University, national university in Japan
*** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
—where it would go on display under the heading "Flame of Recovery". After leaving
Naraha on 26 March, the torch would commence its main relay around Japan, incorporating all 47
prefectural
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
capitals.
After the decision to postpone the Games was made, the torch was placed again in a special lantern on display in the city of Fukushima for a month. After that, the lantern was transferred to the Tokyo prefecture, where it was kept safe until the restart of the relay in 2021.
On 23 July 2020 (one year ahead of the rescheduled opening ceremony), a promotional video was released featuring Japanese swimmer
Rikako Ikee carrying the lantern inside Japan National Stadium, drawing comparisons between emergence from the pandemic and her own return to sport after being diagnosed with
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
. On 20 August 2020, it was announced that the torch relay would begin again in Naraha, Fukushima on 25 March 2021, nearly a year later than originally planned.
The relay ended at Tokyo's
National Stadium (Olympic Stadium) on 23 July, with tennis player
Naomi Osaka
is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champio ...
lighting the Olympic cauldron at the finale of the
opening ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. . The cauldron lit in the Olympic Stadium was only used during the Opening and Closing ceremonies: a separate cauldron was lit on the Tokyo waterfront for public view at the
Yume no Ohashi bridge in
Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded durin ...
, making it only the second time in olympic history where the cauldron was not displayed in the athletics stadium, the other time being in 2016.
Biosecurity protocols
![Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Ariake, tennis center court entrance 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Tokyo_2020_Olympics_in_Ariake%2C_tennis_center_court_entrance_2.jpg)
In February 2021, the IOC began releasing "playbooks" containing details on planned COVID-19
biosecurity
Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc.) to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, thes ...
protocols for athletes, officials, the press, and other staff, including standard protocols such as practicing
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...
, hygiene, the wearing of face masks (outside of training and competition for athletes), and being restricted from visiting bars, restaurants, shops, and other tourist areas around
Greater Tokyo Area
The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...
, or using public transport unless otherwise permitted. Participants would be asked to use Japan's COCOA
Exposure Notification
The (Google/Apple) Exposure Notification (GAEN) system, originally known as the Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing Project, is a framework and protocol specification developed by Apple Inc. and Google to facilitate digital contact tracing during ...
app and would be tested at least every four days. Athletes who tested positive would be unable to compete and could be quarantined at a government facility (although leeway would be given in the event of false positives). Close contacts would also need to test negative in order to be cleared for competition. Athletes would be discouraged from "excessive" celebrations because the actions could spread infected droplets.
The playbooks were criticized in a paper published by ''
The New England Journal of Medicine
''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
His ...
'' in May 2021, for lacking "scientifically rigorous risk assessment" and failing to "distinguish the various levels of risk faced by athletes". The playbook stated that the athletes were required to arrive up to five days prior to the start of the competition and to leave within 48 hours of being eliminated from their sport or the conclusion of the competitions.
The IOC recommended the
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
of athletes against COVID-19 if
vaccines
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity
The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...
were available to them, but this was not a prerequisite for participation and the IOC advised against athletes "jumping the queue" in order to obtain priority over essential populations. On 12 March 2021, Thomas Bach announced that in nations where they were approved for use, the
Chinese Olympic Committee
The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) has been the officially designated body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Olympic Games and other affiliated international sport federations since 1979, when the Nagoya Resolu ...
had offered to cover the costs of the Chinese
CoronaVac
CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, is a whole inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. It was Phase III clinical trialled in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turke ...
and the
Sinopharm BIBP vaccine for athletes competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics and
2022 Winter Olympics, and would purchase two doses for their nation's general public for each vaccinated athlete. On 6 May 2021,
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
announced that it would donate doses of
its vaccine to NOCs competing in Tokyo.
Approximately 93,000 athletes and officials were exempt from the quarantine rules upon arriving in Japan, provided that they remained in areas separated from the local population. With around 300,000 local staff and volunteers entering and exiting these bubbles, and 20,000 vaccine doses allocated for this group, this led to concerns of COVID-19 spreading both during the Games and when teams returned to their countries.
Due to international travel restrictions, the organizing committee announced in March 2021 that no international guests (including spectators, and friends and family members of the athletes) would be allowed to attend the Games. As per existing guidance for spectator sports in Japan, spectators would be asked to refrain from cheering or shouting.
On 19 June 2021, Governor Koike announced that plans for public viewing events for the Games had been scrapped, in order to use the planned venues (such as
Yoyogi Park
is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...
) as mass vaccination sites instead. On 21 June, it was announced that all venues would be capped at a maximum of 10,000 ticketed spectators or 50% capacity, whichever was lower.
On 2 July 2021, the new TOCOG president Seiko Hashimoto warned that there was still a possibility of the Games being held
behind closed doors because of rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Japan's slow vaccination rate had been of particular concern.
A simulation run by the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
in May 2021 projected that a new wave of infections could peak in mid-October if the Games went on after the existing state of emergency in Tokyo had expired.
On 8 July 2021, after Tokyo had recorded 920 new COVID-19 cases (its highest increase since May), Prime Minister Suga declared a new state of emergency in the Tokyo area from 12 July through 22 August (ending only two days before the Paralympics' opening ceremony), and announced that all events at venues in the area would therefore be held behind closed doors with no spectators permitted. Hashimoto stated that "it is extremely regrettable that the Games will be staged in a very limited manner in the face of the spread of novel coronavirus infections." IOC President Thomas Bach stated that "we will support any measure which is necessary to have a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games for the Japanese people and all the participants."
The announcement stated that spectators would still be allowed at events being held outside of Tokyo, subject to the approval by local health authorities and the aforementioned 50%/10,000-spectator limit. The
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of
Fukushima
may refer to:
Japan
* Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture
** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
***Fukushima University, national university in Japan
*** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
,
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
and
Ibaraki announced that they would prohibit spectators at events held in the areas. The opening ceremony was expected to be limited to fewer than 1,000 VIP guests, including IOC representatives and dignitaries,
while some events did allow members of other competing delegations to occupy spectator seats as well. School students were invited to watch football matches in Ibaraki.
On 16 July, it was reported that Bach had asked Prime Minister Suga about the possibility that restrictions on spectators could be eased later on if COVID-19 conditions were to improve in Tokyo.
However, on 2 August, Suga announced that all existing state of emergency declarations would be extended through 31 August, and be extended to Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, and parts of Osaka.
Ticketing
The opening ceremony tickets were expected to range from ¥12,000 to ¥300,000, with a maximum price of ¥130,000 for the finals of the athletics
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
events.
The average ticket price was ¥7,700, with half the tickets being sold for up to ¥8,000. A symbolic ticket price of ¥2,020 was expected for families, groups resident in Japan, and in conjunction with a school program.
Tickets would be sold through 40,000 shops in Japan and by mail order to Japanese addresses through the internet. International guests, had they been allowed, would have needed to visit Japan during the sales period, or arrange to buy tickets through a third party such as a
travel agent
A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinatio ...
.
Tickets went on general sale in Japan in the autumn of 2019 and were expected to be sold globally from June 2020; however, this plan was suspended when the Games were postponed on 24 March 2020. The Tokyo Organizing Committee confirmed that tickets already purchased would remain valid for the same sessions according to the new schedule and that refunds were also being offered.
On 20 March 2021, it was announced that due to COVID-19-related concerns, no international guests would be allowed to attend the 2020 Olympics or Paralympics. This included both spectators, as well as the friends and family of athletes. All overseas ticketholders would be refunded.
Hashimoto cited uncertainties surrounding international
travel restrictions, and goals to preserve the safety of all participants and spectators, and not place a burden on the
health care system
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, Mental health, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World H ...
.
It was ultimately announced in July that all local spectators were not allowed to attend any events held in Tokyo, Fukushima and Hokkaido.
Cultural festival
A cultural program known as Nippon Festival was scheduled to coincide with the Olympics and Paralympics, running from April to September 2021 as a series of streaming events held by the Tokyo Organizing Committee and other partners. The events reflected the themes of "Participation and Interaction", "Towards the Realisation of an Inclusive Society" and "Reconstruction of the Tohoku Region". The program was either downsized or reformatted to
virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Games. One of these events was a concert held on 18 July, which featured J-rock band
Wanima, choreography by dancers Aio Yamada and Tuki Takamura, and the presentation of animated "creatures" based on illustrations "embodying the thoughts and emotions of people from across the world".
The original plans for Nippon Festival included events such as ''
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
x
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
'' (a concert that would have featured stage actor
Ichikawa Ebizō XI may refer to:
Places
*Ichikawa, Chiba, a city in Chiba, Japan
** Ichikawa Gakuen (Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School), a large private boys and girls school in Moto-kita-kata, Ichikawa, Chiba
* Ichikawa, Hyogo, a town in Hyōgo, Japan
*Ichikaw ...
, opera singers Anna Pirozzi and
Erwin Schrott
Erwin Schrott (born 21 December 1972 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly known for his interpretation of the Title role in Mozart's ''Don Giovanni''.
Career
Schrott studied singing with Franca Mattiucci. He made his ...
, and the
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members.
The orchestra plays frequently a ...
), an arts and culture festival focusing on disabilities, and a special two-day exhibition
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
tournament at the
Ryōgoku Kokugikan
, also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...
shortly after the Olympics—which would have differed significantly from the traditional bi-monthly ''
Honbasho
A is an official professional sumo tournament. The number of ''honbasho'' every year has varied along the years; since 1958 there are six tournaments every year. Only ''honbasho'' results matter in determining promotion and relegation for ''riki ...
'' tournaments, and featured special commentary in English and Japanese to help explain to spectators the customs and traditions of professional sumo, which are deeply rooted in the
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
religion.
The Games
Opening ceremony
![Drones durante a abertura das Olimpíadas de Tóquio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Drones_durante_a_abertura_das_Olimp%C3%ADadas_de_T%C3%B3quio.jpg)
The opening ceremony was held on 23 July 2021 in the
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in Tokyo. It included the traditional
Parade of Nations
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...
. Emperor
Naruhito
is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession.
...
formally opened the Games, and at the end of the
torch relay the Olympic cauldron was lit by Japanese tennis player
Naomi Osaka
is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champio ...
.
For the first time in the 2020 Olympic Games, it was decided that one male and one female in each country would take turns holding flags and serve as two of them.
This was done by embodying the "Agenda 2020" set during President Bach's term.
For the first time in the history of the games, a moment of silence was observed in the opening ceremony for the victims of the
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
.
Sports
![Mt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Mt._Fuji_from_Osaki_Park_%28Zushi%29.jpg)
The event program for the 2020 Summer Olympics was approved by the IOC executive board on 9 June 2017. IOC president Thomas Bach stated that their goal was to give the Games "youthful" and "urban" appeal, and to increase the number of female participants.
The Games featured 339 events in 33 different sports, encompassing a total of 50 disciplines. Karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding made their Olympic debut, while baseball and softball also made a one-off return to the Summer Olympics for the first time since 2008. 15 new events within existing sports were also added, including 3x3 basketball, 3×3 basketball,
freestyle BMX Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced t ...
, and the return of
madison cycling, as well as 9 new mixed events in several sports (table tennis, archery, judo, shooting (3), triathlon, relay running and medley swimming).
In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.
New sports
On 12 February 2013, with a remit to control the cost of the Games and ensure they are "relevant to sports fans of all generations", the IOC Executive Board recommended the removal of one of the 26 sports contested at the 2012 Summer Olympics, leaving a vacancy which the IOC would seek to fill at the
125th IOC Session
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...
. The new entrant would join golf and rugby sevens (which would both debut in 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016) as part of the program of 28 "core" sports. Five sports were shortlisted for removal, including canoe, field hockey, modern pentathlon, taekwondo, and wrestling. In the final round of voting by the executive board, eight members voted to remove wrestling from the Olympic program. Hockey and taekwondo were both tied in second with three votes each.
The decision to drop wrestling surprised many media outlets, given that the sport's role in the Olympics dates back to the ancient Olympic Games, and was included in the original program for the modern Games. ''The New York Times'' felt that the decision was based on the shortage of well-known talent and the absence of women's events in the sport.
Out of the shortlist from the IOC vote, Wrestling was duly added to the shortlist of applicants for inclusion in the 2020 Games, alongside the seven new sports that were put forward for consideration.
On 29 May 2013, it was announced that three of the eight sports under consideration had made the final shortlist:
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
/
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, Squash (sport), squash and wrestling. The other five sports were rejected at this point: karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding, and wushu (sport), wushu. At the
125th IOC Session
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...
on 8 September 2013, wrestling was chosen to be included in the Olympic program for 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, 2024. Wrestling secured 49 votes, while baseball/softball and squash received 24 votes and 22 votes respectively.
With the adoption of the ''Olympic Agenda 2020'' in December 2014, the IOC shifted from a "sport-based" approach to the Olympic program to an "event-based" program—establishing that organizing committees may propose discretionary events to be included in the program to improve local interest. As a result of these changes, a shortlist of eight new proposed sports was unveiled on 22 June 2015, consisting of baseball/softball, bowling, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, surfing, and wushu. On 28 September 2015, the Tokyo Organizing Committee submitted their shortlist of five proposed sports to the IOC: baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding.
These five new sports were approved on 3 August 2016 by the IOC during the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and were included in the sports program for 2020 only, bringing the total number of sports at the 2020 Olympics to 33.
Test events
A total of 56 test events were scheduled to take place in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Two of the events were held in late 2018, but the main test event schedule commenced in June 2019 and was originally due to be completed in May 2020 prior to the start of the Olympics. Several of the events were incorporated into pre-existing championships, but some have been newly created specifically to serve as Olympic test events for the 2020 Summer Games.
In February 2019, it was announced that the test events would be branded under the banner "Ready, Steady, Tokyo". The Tokyo Organizing Committee is responsible for 22 of the test events, with the remaining events being arranged by national and international sports federations. The first test event was World Sailing's Sailing World Cup, World Cup Series, held at Enoshima in September 2018. The last scheduled event is the Tokyo Challenge Track Meet, which was originally due to take place at the
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
on 6 May 2020.
All test events originally scheduled to take place from 12 March 2020 onwards were postponed due to COVID-19, with the test event calendar to be reviewed during the preparations for the rescheduled Games.
Participating National Olympic Committees
The Republic of Macedonia has competed under the provisional name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" in every Summer and Winter Games since its debut in 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 because of the Macedonia naming dispute, disputed status of its official name. The naming disputes with Greece ended in 2018 with the signing of the Prespa agreement, and the country was officially renamed North Macedonia in February 2019. The new name was immediately recognized by the IOC, although the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia (NMOC) was not officially adopted until February 2020. The NMOC sent a delegation to the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in January 2020, but the Tokyo Games were North Macedonia's first appearance at the Summer Olympics under its new name.
Since competing as Swaziland ten times at the Summer and Winter Olympics, Eswatini made its debut under that name after the renaming of the country by the Ngwenyama, king in 2018.
On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for a period of four years, after the Russian government was found to have tampered with laboratory data that it had provided to WADA in January 2019 as a condition of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency being reinstated. As a result of the ban, WADA planned to allow individually cleared Russian Olympic Committee athletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Russian athletes to take part in the 2020 Summer Olympics under a neutral banner, as instigated at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but they would be excluded from team sports. The head of WADA's Compliance Review Committee, Jonathan Taylor, stated that the IOC would not be able to use the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR) designation Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as it did in 2018, emphasizing that neutral athletes could not be portrayed as representing a specific country. Russia later filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against WADA's decision. After reviewing the case on appeal, CAS ruled on 17 December 2020 that the penalty placed on Russia be reduced. Instead of a total ban from all sporting events, the ruling allowed Russia to participate at the Olympics and other international events, but the team would not be permitted to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem for a period of two years and must present themselves as "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team". The ruling does allow for "Russia" to be displayed on the team uniform—although it should be no more visible than the "Neutral Athlete/Team" designation—as well as the use of the Russian flag's colors within the uniform's design.
On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russia would compete under the acronym "ROC" after the name of the Russian Olympic Committee although the name of the committee itself in full could not be used to refer to the delegation. The ROC team would be represented by the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee.
On 6 April 2021, North Korea announced that it would not participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics because of COVID-19 concerns. This marked North Korea's first absence from the Summer Olympics since 1988 Summer Olympics, 1988. In September, a month after the games concluded, the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was banned from participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics, after they failed to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. On 21July 2021, Guinea announced it would not be sending a delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, allegedly due to COVID-19 concerns, though media outlets suggested that financial considerations may have been the real motivating factor. Guinea later reversed the decision and confirmed that it would be participating.
![2020 Summer Olympics team numbers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/2020_Summer_Olympics_team_numbers.svg)
The following 206 teams qualified (including the 104 Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification, universality places guaranteed in athletics, under which all 206 NOCs may send competitors regardless of qualification).
Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee
11,420 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committee, NOCs:
Medal summary
Podium sweeps
There were two podium sweeps, as follows:
Medal ceremonies
Naoki Satō composed the music for the medal ceremonies. Satō chose not to employ any musical elements distinctive to Japan "because victory ceremonies are for athletes from around the world" and he wanted all medalists to "feel at ease" when taking their places on the podium, regardless of their nationality.
The bouquets presented to the athletes came from regions affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The individual flowers were selected to represent the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, and Tokyo. The sunflowers were grown in Miyagi, planted by families whose children had died during the disaster; the white and purple eustomas and Polygonatum, Solomon's seals were provided by a non-profit initiative to boost the local economy in Fukushima; the small bright blue gentians were grown in Iwate; and aspidistras, grown in Tokyo, were chosen to complete the bouquets.
Calendar
Event scheduling
Per the historical precedent of swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, swimming finals were held in the morning to allow live primetime broadcasts in the Americas. NBC paid substantial fees for rights to the Olympics, so the IOC has allowed NBC to influence event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible. On 7 May 2014, NBC agreed to a US$7.75 billion contract extension to air the Olympics through the 2032 games, which is one of the IOC's major sources of revenue.
Japanese broadcasters were said to have criticized the decision, as swimming is one of the most popular Olympic events in the country.
Marketing
The official emblems for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 25 April 2016; designed by Asao Tokolo, who won a nationwide design contest, it takes the form of a ring in an indigo-colored checkerboard pattern. The design was meant to "express a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan". The checkered design resembles a pattern called ''ichimatsu moyo'' that was popular during the Edo period in Japan from 1603 to 1867.
The designs replaced a previous emblem which had been scrapped after allegations that it Concerns and controversies at the 2020 Summer Olympics#Logo plagiarism, plagiarized the logo of the Théâtre de Liège in Belgium. The Games' bid slogan was ''Discover Tomorrow'' ( ja, をつかもう, Ashita o tsukamō). While ''ashita'' literally means "tomorrow", it is Furigana#Punning and double meaning, intentionally spelled as ''mirai'', "future". The official slogan ''United by Emotion'' was unveiled on 17 February 2020. The slogan was used solely in English.
The official mascot of the 2020 Summer Olympics was Miraitowa and Someity, Miraitowa, a figure with blue-checkered ''ichimatsu moyo'' patterns inspired by the Games' official emblem. Its fictional characteristics include the ability to Teleportation, teleport.
Created by Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi, the mascots were selected from a competition process which took place in late 2017 and early 2018. A total of 2,042 candidate designs were submitted to the Tokyo Organizing Committee, which selected three pairs of unnamed mascot designs to present to Japanese elementary school students for the final decision. The results of the selection were announced on 28 February 2018, and the mascots were named on 22 July 2018. Miraitowa is named after the Japanese words for "future" and "eternity",
and Someity is named after ''someiyoshino'', a type of cherry blossom.
Someity's name also refers to the English phrase "so mighty". The mascots were expected to help finance the Tokyo Games through merchandizing and licensing deals. For the legacy of the games on 3 January 2022, Ryo Taniguchi created Miraity (the future child of the mascots).
Look of the Games
Alongside the main ''Emblem blue'', the five other colors used in the branding of the 2020 Games were :
, , , , and . These five traditional colors of Japan were used as sub-colors to create points of difference in the color variations.
Concerns and controversies
Several controversial issues occurred during the preparations for the Tokyo Games. There were allegations of bribery in the Japanese Olympic Committee's (JOC) bid and of plagiarism in the initial design for the Games' logo. On 10 December 2018, the French financial crimes office began an investigation of Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the
Japanese Olympic Committee
The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...
, concerning a 2013 scheme to obtain votes from African IOC members in support of Tokyo as host for the 2020 Olympics over Istanbul or Madrid. In March 2020, a Japanese businessman admitted to giving gifts, including cameras and watches, to IOC officials in order to lobby for their support of Tokyo's bid to host the Olympic Games. The official emblems of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, designed by , were unveiled in July 2015 but were withdrawn and replaced following plagiarism accusations. The lawsuit by Olivier Debie, who claimed that his logo design was copied, was later dropped, with the designer citing escalating legal costs.
Mass logging for construction of the Olympic venues received international criticism. Petitions, containing more than 140,000 signatures in total, were delivered to the Japanese embassies in Switzerland and Germany, expressing concerns over claims of using tropical wood sourced from Shin Yang, a Malaysian company with a record of human rights abuses, illegal logging, and rainforest destruction. In February 2018, the Olympics Organizing Committee admitted that 87% of plywood panels used to build the new national stadium was sourced from endangered rainforests.
Portions of the Games were scheduled for locations impacted by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The hosting of events in these locations was promoted as a means of furthering recovery in the regions, with the Games sometimes being promoted as the . However, the organization of events in these regions has faced criticism; Fukushima is considered safe by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, although scientific studies on the safety of the area are still disputed. Some Tōhoku residents questioned the decision to use the region as a host site, arguing that preparations for the Games slowed down recovery efforts, and that the region lost workers to projects associated with the Games.
It was widely reported by international media that South Korea had asked the IOC to ban the Japanese Rising Sun Flag from the 2020 Summer Olympics, claiming it to be a symbol of Empire of Japan, Japan's imperialist past, recalling "historic scars and pain" for people of Korea just as the swastika "reminds Europeans of the nightmare of World War II". Use of the flag in international sporting events such as the Olympic Games is controversial because it was used for waging War of aggression, aggressive war against many countries in Pacific regions, including the Attack on Pearl Harbor. According to the Associated Press, the IOC issued a statement in response to South Korea's request, saying, "sports stadiums should be free of any political demonstration. When concerns arise at games time we look at them on a case by case basis." Russian and South Korean officials took issue with a map of the torch relay on the Games' official website, which depicted the disputed Liancourt Rocks (governed by South Korea) and Kuril Islands (governed by Russia since 1945) as part of Japan.
In February 2021, the TOCOG president Yoshirō Mori resigned, after facing both domestic and international criticisms over his sexist remarks. The previous conduct of the new president, Seiko Hashimoto, has also drawn criticisms, leading her to comment "I regret it and think I should be careful" on one of the accusations. The head creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies, , resigned in March 2021, after making demeaning comments about Naomi Watanabe. Sasaki's replacement, Kentarō Kobayashi, was dismissed by the Organizing Committee the day before the opening ceremony,
after it was reported by Japanese media that he had made a joke about the Holocaust in a script for his comedy in 1998, saying "Let's play Holocaust."
On the eve of the opening ceremony, Yoshihide Suga, the Prime Minister of Japan and the Supreme Advisor of the Organizing Committee, described Kobayashi's jokes as "outrageous and unacceptable", but also said that the opening ceremony, which was directed by Kobayashi, should proceed as planned.
The composer for the opening ceremony, Cornelius (musician), Keigo Oyamada, resigned days before the ceremony after growing criticism of his past bullying of people with apparent Disability, disabilities, such as Down syndrome.
On 16 July, a week before the opening ceremony, TOCOG announced their support of Oyamada as a composer and vowed not to change his selection for the ceremonies,
but growing criticism forced him to announce his resignation on 19 July. The opening ceremony music included arrangements of video game soundtracks originating in Japan; however, this included music from the ''Dragon Quest'' series, composed by Koichi Sugiyama whom ''The Daily Beast'' described as "notoriously homophobic and ultranationalist", leading to further criticism of the Organizing Committee.
Officials reported that by early June 2021, about 10,000 of the 80,000 registered volunteers had quit.
"There's no doubt that one of the reasons is concern over coronavirus infections," the chief executive of the Organizing Committee said, also stating he did not believe this would impact the operation of the Games.
On 23 July, hundreds of anti-Olympic protestors gathered outside the Japan National Stadium before the opening ceremony. Security guards blocked reporters from leaving the stadium to interview protestors.
Writing for The Conversation (website), Olympic scholar MacIntosh Ross raised concerns about the relationship between the IOC and WHO, suggesting the organizations showed a lack of concern for the health of Japanese citizens and Olympians. As Ross explained, "when the IOC and WHO support a global mega-event held during a pandemic, it's difficult to believe that the well-being of the host nation remains a priority."
A number of controversies arose during the Games, most notably the attempted repatriation on 1 August of Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, allegedly for her criticism of the national sports authorities and team management. Refusing to return to Belarus, over fears for her safety, Tsimanouskaya sought assistance from the IOC and traveled to Warsaw, Poland, on 4 August after being granted a humanitarian visa by Embassy of Poland, Tokyo, Tokyo's Polish Embassy.
Near the end of the Olympics, it was reported that Australian athletes had damaged the village rooms before departure, leaving a pool of vomit on the floor, damaged beds and a hole in the wall. Australian rugby Olympians also reportedly became drunk on the flight to Sydney, leaving vomit in the plane bathroom and receiving complaints from other passengers. Team Australia chief Ian Chesterman played down the incidents, and said that the Olympians would not be punished.
Broadcasting
The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 reached a global broadcast audience of 3.05 billion people, according to independent research conducted on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Official coverage on Olympic broadcast partners' digital platforms alone generated 28 billion video views in total – representing a 139 per cent increase compared with the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and underlining the changing media landscape and Tokyo 2020's designation as the first streaming Games and the most watched Olympic Games ever on digital platforms.
Sony Corporation, Sony and Panasonic partnered with
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
to develop broadcasting standards for 8K resolution television, with a goal to release 8K television sets in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In early 2019, Italian broadcaster RAI announced its intention to deploy 8K broadcasting for the Games. NHK broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies, and coverage of selected events in 8K. Telecom company
NTT Docomo signed a deal with Finland's Nokia to provide 5G-ready baseband networks in Japan in time for the Games.
The Tokyo Olympics were broadcast in the United States by NBC Olympic broadcasts, NBCUniversal networks, as part of a US$4.38 billion agreement that began at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee asserted that a "right of abatement" clause in the contract was triggered by the delay of the Games to 2021, requiring the IOC to "negotiate in good faith an equitable reduction in the applicable broadcast rights payments" by NBC, which remains one of IOC's biggest revenue streams.
According to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, the Tokyo games could be the most profitable Olympics in NBC's history. The Tokyo games were NBC's first Olympics broadcast under current president Susan Rosner Rovner.
In Europe, this was the first Summer Olympics under the IOC's exclusive pan-European rights deal with Eurosport, which began at the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
and is contracted to run through 2024. The rights for the 2020 Summer Olympics covered almost all of Europe; a pre-existing deal with a marketer excludes Russia.
Eurosport planned to sub-license coverage to free-to-air networks in each territory, and other channels owned by Discovery, Inc. subsidiaries. In the United Kingdom, these were set to be the last Games with rights owned primarily by the BBC, although as a condition of a sub-licensing agreement due to carry into the 2022 and 2024 Games, Eurosport holds exclusive pay television rights.
In France, these were the last Games whose rights are primarily owned by France Télévisions. Eurosport debuted as pay television rightsholder, after Canal+ elected to sell its pay television rights as a cost-saving measure.
In Canada, the 2020 Games were shown on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC/Radio-Canada platforms, Sportsnet, The Sports Network, TSN and Telelatino, TLN. In Australia, they were aired by Seven Network. In the Indian subcontinent, they were aired by Sony Pictures Networks India, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).
See also
Notes
References
External links
*
Official website (Tokyo2020.org)Japanese Olympic Committee
{{Authority control
2020 Summer Olympics,
2021 in Japanese sport, Olympics
2021 in multi-sport events, Summer Olympics
2021 in Tokyo
August 2021 sports events in Japan, Olympics
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, Olympics
Sports events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
July 2021 sports events in Japan, Olympics
Olympic Games in Japan
Sports competitions in Tokyo
Sports events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Olympics
Summer Olympics by year