Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: A guide of main events schedule and timings
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As the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games started hosting sporting events from July 23 in Japan's Tokyo, here is a list of the key events that will take place in the first few days
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have finally started. After being postponed for nearly a year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Tokyo is ready to host one of the biggest and most controversial games.
With the opening ceremony a few hours away, here is a list of main events that will be taking place from July 23 onwards (all time slots are in BST).
July 23, Friday — Day Zero
Archery
In the morning in Tokyo, archers set out to compete for a ranking round. While this round will not result in anyone’s elimination, it will help determine seeding for women’s and men’s individual tournaments.
Rowing
A similar rowing competition is also scheduled for the morning which will see the participation of known players such as Vicky Thornley, Olaf Tufte and more.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will begin around 12pm BST and will continue till 4 pm.
While usually there are always some elements of surprise and air of curiosity around the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, this year’s ceremony will be toned down.
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the guest list has been limited to a selected few, including the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, and the French President Emmanuel Macron. Due to the fear of COVID-19 in Tokyo, no fans will be allowed to enjoy the games from the Olympic stands this year.
This year, the opening ceremony is hoped to be based on Japan’s influence and place in the world of technology. However, the same has not been confirmed by the authorities yet.
In a first, teams will be entering the opening ceremony as per the Japanese-language order, rather than following the English alphabet as usual. However, like every year, Greece will be entering first as it is the originating Olympic host country, and since the host nation enters last, Japan will be the last team to enter the stadium.
July 24, Saturday — Day one
Day one of the Olympic Games after the opening ceremony will host 11 medal events. The events that are scheduled for July 24 are Archery (mixed), cycling (men’s road race at 03:00), fencing (men’s sabre and women’s epee), Judo (women’s 48kg and men’s 60kg), weightlifting for women’s 49 kg category, taekwondo (women’s 49 kg and men’s 58 kg) and shooting (women’s 10m air rifle and men’s 10m air pistol).
In addition to this, men’s artistic gymnastics qualifiers are also scheduled to start from 02:00 till 14:00. Other swimming events, majorly only heats, will also start from Saturday.