via Reuters
Flags are hoisted atop of spectators’ seat at Aomi Urban Sports Park ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, July 19, 2021. REUTERS/Naoki Ogura
via Reuters
Flags are hoisted atop of spectators’ seat at Aomi Urban Sports Park ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, July 19, 2021. REUTERS/Naoki Ogura
The Tokyo Olympics 2020-21 is all set to officially begin on July 23, 2021. The opening ceremony for the quadrennial event is expected to be formally opened by Japanese Emperor Naruhito. The highly-anticipated opening ceremony for this international sporting event will be held on Friday. It will include welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation’s culture and history.
via Reuters
Torches are pictured during a lighting ceremony after the torch relay on a public road was cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay celebration in Tokyo, Japan, July 9, 2021. REUTERS/Naoki Ogura
The theme for this year’s Olympic Games is s Moving Forward (with reference to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic). The theme? for the opening ceremony and the Tokyo Olympics 2020 slogan is? – United by Emotion. The event organizers intend to “reaffirm the role of sport and the value of the Olympic Games.”
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But there is one momentous hurdle that awaits our brave Olympic athletes in July and August.
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Tokyo Olympics 2020-21 could set an unwanted record in the coming weeks
The first time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, in 1964, organizers were forced to shift the Summer Games to the season of Autumn. They had to do so because of the humid and warm weather conditions that set in after the rains are over. However, in Autumn, the temperatures are comfortably lower.
This was always a concern, ever since Japan won the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. And now, reports indicate that this year’s quadrennial showpiece will be one of the warmest conditions to host the Olympic Games held. In fact, it might be the hottest.
via Reuters
The giant Olympic rings are seen through a tree in the dusk at the waterfront area of Odaiba Marine Park, before the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Earlier in July, Tokyo residents were warned not to exercise outdoors. Additionally, beach volleyball players practising at Shiokaze Park complained that the sand was too hot for their feet. Local staff were forced to hose down the playing surface so athletes could practice later on.
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Haruo Ozaki, the chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, also addressed these risks in an interview prior to the start of the Tokyo Olympics 2020-21.
?Holding the Games during July and August ? was a serious issue even before the coronavirus pandemic. There are still high risks of heatstroke at events such as competitive walking, triathlon and beach volleyball”, Ozaki said earlier this month via The Guardian.
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Prior to this, the hottest Summer Games were held back in Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008).
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