Are you watching the Olympic opening ceremony?

Tori_Scope
Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,468 Championing
edited July 2021 in Coffee lounge
The long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Olympic opening ceremony has started. You can watch it live on BBC iPlayer if you have a TV license, or follow along with the text summary. 

Famous for their theatrics, the opening ceremony often kicks the Games off in style.

Each country has a selected number of athletes walk out during a parade. There are 207 countries taking part. This time, the order the teams are walking out in is according to the Japanese alphabet. Team GB should be reasonably early on if you're cheering for them, so tune in now to catch them!

statue of the olympic rings

Are you watching the opening ceremony? Are you excited for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games? What's your favourite Olympic sport?

Comments

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 15,172 Championing
    edited July 2021
    I feel a bit sorry for Japan having invested so much money into the Olympics - as any country does when it's their turn - however, most countries see a return on investment but Japan is unlikely to get much return due to the Pandemic situation putting a stop to a lot of things.

    Is there any talk of Japan getting any of their money reimbursed (I don't really know how it works or if that is even possible) or will they just have to swallow it?
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,468 Championing
    I think they're just swallowing it as, from my understanding, it was their choice to go ahead with it @66Mustang. The cost of cancelling the Games would also have been huge, so maybe they've just sort of 'taken the L'? I did see this article on CNN, with quotes from a Japanese businessperson, which estimates the potential losses. This article on Reuters was also an interesting read. Many people are angered about the fact that the Games are going ahead at all, as the pandemic is far from over. This could have a human cost, as well as the potential economic costs of further lockdowns and so on.
    But Nomura Research Institute executive economist Takahide Kiuchi said that loss would pale in comparison with the economic hit from emergency curbs if the Games turned into a coronavirus super-spreader event.

    "If the (Olympic Games) trigger the spread of infections and necessitate another emergency declaration, then the economic loss would be much greater," Kiuchi said.