Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony to kick off Games

As with all events at these Olympics, the opening ceremony will be held without fans. There will also be fewer athletes marching into the 68,000-seat Tokyo Olympic Stadium for what is typically a grand spectacle of music, dancing and all manner of theatrical performances.

Instead, organizers are promising a much more subdued affair that reflects the fact that these Games are being held in the midst of a global pandemic.

Indeed, Tokyo was put under a state of emergency on July 12 due to surging coronavirus case counts, which hit a six-month high on Thursday.