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The Olympic Games are an opportunity to show strength and prosperity. In its 125-year history, the host country of the opening ceremony of the Olympics has been making a lot of fuss. However, the opening ceremony of the 32nd edition was not so grand.
Nepali team marches in the opening ceremony of the 32nd edition of the Olympics starting in Tokyo, Japan on Friday. Photo: NSJF and AFP
The ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo was not attended by thousands of performers, nor was the parapet filled with spectators. The tradition of having the presence of the world's top leaders did not continue. The highest use of technology was made during the four-hour-long ceremony, which made the viewers of television and digital platforms feel great.
The Olympic Games, held every four years, were postponed for three editions during World War II. Besides, this is the time to move to the Olympics. The Summer Olympics have been delayed by a year due to the Corona epidemic. It is the epidemic that has made the Tokyo Olympics 2020 civilized and peaceful, free of trappings. Before the ceremony, some locals had protested outside the gate of the stadium against the Olympic project. The Japanese people do not like the Olympics, which were held during the epidemic, many people have remained silent, few have protested.
Japan also signed an agreement to show its culture to the world. He showed little of his cultural pageantry and art. The stadium was decorated with laser lights and fireworks. But like in the past, the presence of more than one lakh people this time
It dropped to 10,400. There were 6,000 players and officials, 900 guests, 1,500 broadcasters, and 2,000 journalists participating in the march. The corona transition in the Japanese capital has set a record for the 34th day in a row, leaving the stadium empty with a capacity of 68,000 spectators.
Refugee team players and officials from 204 countries marched in the Japanese alphabetical order. The national flag of Nepal was carried by swimmers Gaurika Singh and Alexander (Alex) Shah in this Olympics emphasizing gender equality. Judo's Sonia Bhatt and shooter Kalpana Pariyar did not participate in the march as they had to compete on Saturday morning. Judo coach Suryanarayana Shrestha and shooting coach Asim Yadav also stayed at the Olympic Village. Member Secretary of the National Sports Council Ramesh Kumar Silwal and MP Tulsa Thapa and six other officials were waving their hands during the march. Five Nepali athletes are participating in this Olympics. Among them, Saraswati Chaudhary of Athletics will fly from Kathmandu only on Saturday.
The ceremony was attended by Emperor Naruhito of Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, US First Lady Jill Biden, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. The epidemic has made masks mandatory on everyone's face, while hugs and high-fives have been banned.
When Tokyo hosted the Olympics again after 1964, more than 11,000 athletes competed in 33 sports until August 8. This time around, the Olympics have focused on how to compete safely against epidemics rather than who will win the most medals. But the medal competition will start on Saturday.
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