2020 Summer Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially called the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and known as Tokyo 2020, were a big international sports event held in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to August 8, 2021. Some events started even earlier, on July 21, 2021. Tokyo was chosen to host these games back in 2013.

These games were supposed to happen in 2020, but they were moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time the Olympics were ever postponed. Even though they were held in 2021, they kept the name “Tokyo 2020” for marketing. Because of the pandemic, most events were held without any fans in the stands, which had never happened before.

Many new sports were added to the Olympics for the first time, like 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX, skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, karate, baseball, and softball. The United States won the most medals, but the host country, Japan, also did very well, winning more medals than ever before in any Olympics.

Bidding process

Main article: Bids for the 2020 Summer Olympics

Three cities wanted to host the 2020 Summer Olympics: Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid. Other cities like Baku and Doha wanted to host too but weren’t chosen. A plan from Rome was also dropped.

The International Olympic Committee chose the host city on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They used a voting system where each city needed more than half of the votes. In the first round, no city got enough votes. Madrid and Istanbul tied for second, so they had a runoff vote to see which would be eliminated. Then, Tokyo and Istanbul faced off, and Tokyo won with 60 votes against Istanbul’s 36.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Main articles: COVID-19 cases at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics and List of athletes not attending the 2020 Summer Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns

See also: COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

In early 2020, worries grew about how the COVID-19 disease might affect athletes and visitors at the Summer Olympic Games. The organizers in Tokyo and the International Olympic Committee said they were watching the situation closely to help keep everything safe. They said Japan could not wait much longer to decide what to do if the disease kept spreading.

Because COVID-19 can spread easily between people, it was harder to keep everyone safe than with other diseases like the Zika virus or swine flu. There was also no vaccine available until late in 2020.

Some events that were supposed to decide which athletes could compete had to be moved to new places or delayed because of the disease. For example, a basketball event moved from China to Serbia, and a boxing event moved from China to Jordan.

The Olympic Games, which were meant to happen in 2020, were put off until 2021 because of COVID-19. This was the first time the Olympics had ever been delayed. The new dates were set for July and August 2021, and the Games kept the name “Tokyo 2020.”

Many people in Japan were worried about holding the Games, especially when cases of the disease rose in 2021. Some doctors and leaders asked to delay or cancel the event. In the end, the Games happened without any spectators to help keep people safe. After the Games, the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan went up sharply.

Development and preparations

See also: Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Tokyo Organizing Committee was led by former Japanese prime minister Yoshirō Mori until he stepped down in February 2021. This happened because he made comments that were not kind about women. Seiko Hashimoto took over as the new leader. Tamayo Marukawa, the Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, helped watch over everything for the Japanese government.

The city of Tokyo spent a lot of money, more than US$3.67 billion, to get ready for the Games. Japan planned to make it easier for people to travel between airports by building new train lines. They also wanted to improve roads and public transport to help everyone get around better.

Venues and infrastructure

Main article: Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics

Tokyo built many places for the Olympics to happen. They updated an old stadium and made a new one that could hold many people. Some events were moved to a different city because of worries about the weather. The city also made some small improvements to help people who have trouble moving around and put up signs in more languages.

Security

Japan made sure to keep everyone safe during the Olympics. They did not allow drones near the Olympic places. They also did practice drills to be ready if something bad happened.

Volunteers

Many people wanted to help out as volunteers for the Olympics. They had special names like “Field Cast” for helpers at the places where games happened and “City Cast” for helpers around the city. Because of the pandemic, many volunteers decided not to help anymore.

Medals

Further information: Olympic medal

Tokyo made special medals for the Olympics from old electronics like mobile phones. They collected these items and turned them into medals. The medals had different designs and ribbons to tell apart gold, silver, and bronze.

Torch relay

The torch for the Olympics started its journey in Greece and then came to Japan. Because of the pandemic, the torch was kept safe until it could start its trip again. The torch ended its journey in Tokyo where a tennis player lit a big fire to start the Games.

Biosecurity protocols

To keep everyone healthy during the Olympics, there were special rules. People had to wash their hands often, stay far apart, and wear masks. They also had to use a special app to tell if they had been near someone who was sick. Many people did not get to watch the Games because of these rules.

Ticketing

Tickets for the Olympics were very expensive, with some costing as much as ¥300,000. Because of the pandemic, no people from other countries could come to watch. Even people living in Japan were not allowed to attend most events.

Cultural festival

A special festival called Nippon Festival was planned to happen during the Olympics. Because of the pandemic, many of the events were changed to happen online instead. There were still some concerts and shows, but many of the big plans had to be canceled or changed.

The Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on July 23, 2021, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. It featured the Parade of Nations, where athletes from each country marched in. Emperor Naruhito officially opened the Games. At the end of the torch relay, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron.

For the first time, one male and one female athlete from each country held flags together during the ceremony. This change was part of efforts to make the Games more modern and inclusive.

Sports

The Games included 339 medal events across 33 different sports. New sports like karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding made their Olympic debut. Baseball and softball also returned for this one time.

The goal was to make the Games more appealing to younger audiences and to include more women. New events such as 3×3 basketball and freestyle BMX were added. Mixed events, where men and women compete together, were also introduced in several sports.

Test events

Before the Olympics, there were test events to make sure everything was ready. These events started in 2018 and continued through 2019. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these test events that were set to happen in 2020 were postponed. The Tokyo Organizing Committee and other sports groups were in charge of organizing these events.

Participating National Olympic Committees

See also: 2020 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations

North Macedonia joined the Olympics under its new name after solving naming issues with Greece. Eswatini also changed its name from Swaziland when it joined the Olympics.

Russia faced problems with rules about fair play in sports and could not use its name, flag, or anthem. They competed under the name "ROC" from the Russian Olympic Committee.

North Korea chose not to join the games because of worries about COVID-19. Guinea first said it would not join but later decided to take part.

The following 206 teams took part (including places kept open for all nations to send athletes in some sports).

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

There were 11,420 athletes from 206 NOCs:

Calendar

See also: Chronological summary of the 2020 Summer Olympics

The schedule for the 2020 Summer Olympics was approved in 2018, with some details added later. Originally set for July to August 2020, the games were moved to 2021 because of health concerns worldwide. All events were pushed back by almost a full year, starting on July 21 and ending on August 8, 2021.

All times and dates use Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Medal table

See also: 2020 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2020 Summer Olympics medal winners

  *   Host nation (Japan)

Podium sweeps

There were two podium sweeps, as follows:

Medal ceremonies

Naoki Satō made the music for the medal ceremonies. He did not use special music from Japan because he wanted athletes from all countries to feel comfortable when they stood together.

The flowers given to the athletes came from places affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The flowers were chosen to represent different areas. The sunflowers came from Miyagi, where families of children who passed away in the disaster planted them. The white and purple eustomas and Solomon's seals came from Fukushima to help the local economy. The small bright blue gentians came from Iwate, and aspidistras came from Tokyo.

Event scheduling

Like in past Olympics, swimming finals were held in the morning so that people in the Americas could watch them live in the evening. NBC, a major TV company, paid a lot of money to show the Olympics, so they helped decide when events would happen to get the best TV ratings in the United States. This decision was not popular with Japanese broadcasters because swimming is a very popular event in Japan.

Marketing

The official emblems for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on April 25, 2016. They were designed by Asao Tokolo, who won a nationwide contest. The emblem looks like a ring with an indigo checkerboard pattern. It was inspired by a traditional Japanese design called ichimatsu moyo from the Edo period.

The Games used the slogan Discover Tomorrow, with the word “tomorrow” intentionally spelled to also mean “future” in Japanese. Later, the slogan United by Emotion was introduced in 2020.

The official mascot was Miraitowa, a character with blue-checkered patterns inspired by the emblem. Miraitowa can teleport and was created by Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi. The mascot’s name combines the words for “future” and “eternity.” The mascot was chosen through a competition and was expected to help support the Games through merchandise and licensing.

Five traditional Japanese colors were also used in the branding alongside the main blue color.

Concerns and controversies

Main article: Concerns and controversies at the 2020 Summer Olympics

See also: Belarus 2020 Summer Olympics scandal

There were many issues and debates around the Tokyo Games. Some people said there was unfair dealing when Tokyo was chosen to host the Olympics. There were also worries about using wood from forests that were being cut down unfairly.

Some events were to be held in areas affected by past natural disasters, which some people felt slowed down recovery efforts. There were also disagreements about flags and maps used during the Games.

Leaders of the Games faced criticism for remarks that were not respectful, and some people in charge had to step down because of their words. Many volunteers decided not to help because of worries about health during the pandemic. Some athletes faced issues because of their political views, and there were reports of some athletes not treating their living spaces well after the Games.

Broadcasting

Main article: List of 2020 Summer Olympics broadcasters

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were watched by 3.05 billion people around the world. Digital platforms showed the games more than ever before, with 28 billion video views — much more than the games in Rio in 2016. This shows how people are now watching sports online.

Companies like Sony, Panasonic, and NHK worked together to create special standards for super-clear 8K TV pictures just in time for the games. RAI, an Italian TV company, also planned to use 8K for the games. NTT Docomo and Nokia helped set up fast 5G networks in Japan. Audio-Technica gave NBC Sports Group the microphones and headphones they needed to show the games.