Nikkei: "Even if next year's Olympics are held, the opening ceremony will be scaled down... Consideration of omitting athlete parade"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Even if the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are held next year as planned by the Japanese government, it is expected that the athletes' parade during the opening ceremony will not be seen.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the 23rd that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee is considering significantly simplifying the opening ceremony to prevent COVID-19 infections among Olympic athletes and reduce costs.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

To this end, plans such as eliminating the athletes' parade and reducing the number of participants in the opening ceremony are being discussed. Traditionally, the athletes' parade during the opening ceremony has been the most important event alongside the lighting of the Olympic flame at every Olympics. The size of each country's delegation and even who would serve as the flag bearer were all matters of great interest.

However, under the COVID-19 circumstances, such gatherings and close contact among athletes could potentially trigger large-scale infections within the teams. Therefore, the option of omitting the parade itself is being considered.

In addition, the organizing committee is also reviewing the reduction of the number of athletes attending the opening ceremony.

To cut costs, the committee is also considering holding the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics together. The plan is to hold the opening ceremony for the Olympics and the closing ceremony for the Paralympics jointly.

However, it remains uncertain whether the Olympics will actually take place. On the 20th, IOC President Thomas Bach expressed in an interview with the British BBC that if the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics cannot be held next year, he believes there will be no further postponement.

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