John Legend! Keith Urban! Treadmill Girl? Here's Everyone We Saw and What Went Down at the Olympics Opening Ceremony

Author:
Rose Maura Lorre
Jul 24, 2021

The Summer Olympics finally got underway in Tokyo, Japan on Friday, July 23, 2021, and kicking it all off was the 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony. (FYI, they’re still called the 2020 Olympics despite the fact that they’re taking place in 2021.) It’s a traditionally grand event where the host country gets to show off its unique culture before the athletes strut their stuff into the stadium—and this year's festivities did not disappoint! Here, we’ve rounded up everything you want to know about the Olympics Opening Ceremony!

When is the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2021?

The Olympics kicked off on Friday, July 23, with the Opening Ceremony taking place at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium at 8 p.m. local time. (A few sports started competing on July 21, two days before the Opening Ceremonies, including soccer, rowing, archery and softball.) The Games are slated to run for two weeks before concluding with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, August 8. They’ll be followed by the 2020 Paralympics, which kick off on Tuesday, August 24, and are scheduled to run through Sunday, September 5.

Because Japan is 13 hours ahead of the U.S.’s East Coast and 16 hours ahead of the West Coast, you’ll have to wake up really early if you want to witness any Olympic action live—including the Opening Ceremony, which broadcast in the U.S. at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT. The Opening Ceremony was re-broadcast during primetime hours on the night of Friday, July 23. (Likewise, tons of high-profile Olympic events will air again at night for U.S. viewers.)

Where was the Olympics Opening Ceremony held?

Tokyo’s Olympics Stadium was the site of the Opening Ceremony. The venue is brand new, with construction starting in 2016 and finishing in 2019. Despite the fact that it’s a young building, it’s already gone by a few names since its planning stages, including Japan National Stadium and New National Stadium. After the Opening Ceremony, soccer and track and field are scheduled to take place at Olympics Stadium as well.

Related: 101 Sports Trivia QuestionsHow to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony

Who carried the U.S. flag in Tokyo?

On July 21, Team USA revealed that the two competitors who'd lead the American pack of athletes into the Opening Ceremony as official U.S. flag bearers: basketball superstar Sue Bird and baseball infielder Eddy Alvarez. Both athletes boast top-notch resumés: 40-year-old Bird has helped lead the U.S. women's national basketball team to four gold medals over the past 16 years (she also happens to be engaged to another Olympic A-lister: soccer star Megan Rapinoe!), while the 31-year-old Alvarez, a first-generation American, not only plays MLB ball for the Florida Marlins; he's also a onetime Winter Olympian, winning a silver medal in speed skating at the 2014 Games in Sochi!

Bird told TODAY about her fellow teammates selecting her as flag bearer, "To have your peers be the one to kind of see your career and pick you to be the one to lead us in... That's the best part." Meanwhile, Alvarez choked back tears while telling the outlet, "To be able to lead Team USA is an absolute honor."

As the Opening Ceremonies unfolded live, Alvarez's friends and family gathered at his training gym in Florida to watch and cheer him on.

Who lit the Olympic torch?

One of the most exciting and meaningful moments of any Opening Ceremony is the lighting of the Olympic flame. It’s the culmination of the Olympic torch relay that got underway in Japan on March 25 of this year. Who will light the stadium’s cauldron is usually left a mystery until the very end—but it's usually one of the host country’s most famous athletes of all time.

In a surprise move that fans around the world love, tennis legend and mental health activist Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic Cauldron for 2021, making her the very first tennis star to ever do so.

Prior to the ceremony, there were some rumors that golfer Hideki Matsuyama—the first Japanese winner of The Masters—might receive the honors. "If the schedule works out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honor that would be," Matsuyama said in response to the rumors. "If I am on the team, and maybe it looks like I will be, I'll do my best to represent my country, and hopefully I'll play well."

Who was Olympic treadmill girl?

Arisa Tsubata went viral for running on a treadmill alone during the Opening Ceremony. Tsubata is a frontline nurse and boxer. In the Opening Ceremony, she began running alone on the treadmill as gradually more athletes and dancers were lit up around her, each at a distance from one another. NBC Sports reports that the performance was meant to represent the “invisible bond” between athletes, even as they were physically distanced from one another during the pandemic.

Tsubata was an Olympic hopeful herself, but her qualifying events were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The treadmill moment quickly sent social media into a frenzy.

Why was the director of the Olympics Opening Ceremony fired?

On July 22, the day before the Olympics' official start date, Tokyo's Olympic organizing committee fired KentaroKobayashi from his position as director of the Opening Ceremonies after it came to light that he made light of the Holocaust during a performance at a comedy show in 1998. Olympic organizing president Seiko Hashimoto said in a statement, "We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ['Let's play Holocaust'] ridiculing a historical tragedy. We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country."

What is the theme of the 2020 Olympics?

Good question! It seems the Games’ official motto underwent a redo after Tokyo was declared the 2020 host city way back in 2013.

A year later, in 2014, it was reported that the motto would be “Discover Tomorrow.” However, in February 2020—just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the world—a new (and, coincidentally, very pandemic-appropriate) motto was revealed: “United by Emotion,” along with a video starring Japanese-American tennis star NaomiOsaka.

What is the mascot for the Summer Olympics?

Meet Miraitowa! This checkered character has teleportation superpowers and a name that means “future” and “eternity.” For the 2020 Paralympics, there’s a similar-looking, pink-and-white character named Someity who can fly and send telepathic messages; her name and likeness were inspired by Japan's famed cherry blossoms. Expect them both to make an appearance during their respective Opening Ceremonies.

What happens in the Olympics Opening Ceremony?

The event typically begins with the raising of the host nation’s flag and the performance of their national anthem. Japan’s anthem, “Kimigayo” (which roughly translates to “The Emperor’s Reign”), is based on an ancient poem and is believed to be one of the world’s oldest anthems.

Likewise, the Olympic flag (emblazoned with the Games’ iconic, five-ring symbol) is raised and the Olympic Anthem (a.k.a. Olympic Hymn) is performed.

Who performed at the Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Artists from Japan and around the world performed at the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Japanese singer MISIA performed the Japanese national anthem "Kimigayo." Her colorful, cotton candy-inspired gown went viral:

The Edo Firemanship Preservation Association then sang "Kiyari Uta (Work Song)," a traditional Japanese tune, and dedicated it to essential and frontline workers and their sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dancers performed as carpenters, a tribute to the country's legacy in woodworking.

An orchestra then played songs from Japan's legendary video games, including Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy, as flag bearers entered the stadium to represent their homelands.