After a year-long delay, the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is almost here. But with social distancing and no fans, the ceremony, much like the Games, will look a lot different.
When is the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony for the Olympics is scheduled for 8 pm Friday night in Tokyo. But the 1-hour time difference with Tokyo means it will be Friday 9 pm here in PNG.
How can I watch it, and what time does it start?
EMTV will broadcast the ceremony starting at 9 pm.
Coverage will also be replayed again overnight for viewers who missed earlier broadcasts.
Who is leading the Team PNG in the Parade of Nations?
One of the highlights of the opening ceremony is the Parade of Nations. Weightlifters Dika Toua and Morea Baru will be the flag bearers for Papua New Guinea and will lead the delegation of seven athletes and 11 officials.
What are some of the changes to the ceremony this year?
Athletes will parade through a largely empty Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, as spectators have been barred from most of the Games. Performers at this year’s lineup have not yet been announced.
The opening ceremony comes at a time when games have already been underway in Tokyo, and anxieties about the virus are high. Tokyo’s infection rate has hit a six-month high. Adding to that anxiety is the flurry of announcements about Olympic participants testing positive, including those inside the Olympic Village.
What else should I know?
Other news has also overshadowed the event in recent days.
On Thursday, organizers of the Games dismissed Kentaro Kobayashi, creative director of the ceremony, after video footage emerged of him making fun of the Holocaust in a comedic act in the 1990s.
Kobayashi’s dismissal followed the resignation of the composer who had written music for the opening ceremony after excerpts from interviews he had given in the 1990s confessing to severe bullying and abuse of disabled classmates surfaced on social media.
