Let the Games begin! Tennis star Osaka lights the Olympic cauldron

At the opening ceremony on Friday 23 July, the final torch bearer, 23-year-old Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron inside the Olympic Stadium. The relay of the torch, designed in the shape of a cherry blossom – a prominent Japanese symbol – had begun on 25 March 2021. The torch relay was held across all 47 prefectures in Japan over 120 days.

Osaka lighting the cauldron was one of the final moments in a particularly moving Opening Ceremony, furthering the ‘Stronger Together’ message and spirit of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Earlier during the ceremony, 1,800 drones took to the skies for a memorable light display, first creating the Tokyo 2020 logo and then becoming the moon and then the globe, encompassing those messages of unity and the world coming together.

The ceremony also included a performance of the sport pictograms, originally created for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics as a way of bridging the language gap and making sports more universally understood across the world. This modern update of the ‘kinetic pictograms’ has quickly become the most talked-about highlight of the ceremony. A five-minute performance saw all 50 sports pictograms brought to life in human form, acted out in quick succession with artful use of props and elegant choreography.

There were many flag bearers for Sailing, most carrying the flag for the first time for their country, and some having the honour for a second time. Read more about the flag bearers from sailing here.

Sailing will start on Sunday 25 July, with the first day of racing seeing the RS:X Men and Women and Laser and Laser Radial classes competing in Enoshima Bay.

By Deanna Jevans – World Sailing
Photography by Sailing Energy / World Sailing