The Olympics Are Back!

The Olympic Games in 2020 have —finally! — arrived, after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic last summer. If honoring the finest of 2020's athletics in 2021 seems strange, buckle up because it's going to be a wild and unpredictable journey. Find out when and where the Olympics will be held, how to watch them, which sports to follow, and how COVID-19 will affect this year's Games in the sections below.

On Friday, July 23, the Olympic Games will begin with the much-anticipated opening ceremony that displays all the dedicated athletes participating, joined by magnificent entertaining shows. The Games will span a total of 16 days, culminating in a closing ceremony on August 8th.

Tokyo's 2020 Olympics will be broadcasted live through Claro Sports on television, as well as offering full coverage of the event on their Youtube channel “Marca Claro” for those on the go. The time difference between Japan and Uruguay is not stopping Claro Sports from uploading retransmissions of your favorite sport, so you can’t miss out!

Men's and Women's Soccer, which started earlier this week, is a big draw, as are track and field on July 29 and 20, swimming (look out for Katie Ledecky!) on July 24, and women's gymnastics on July 24 as well. Surfing, skateboarding, karate, and sport climbing are also competing for the first time in the Olympics this year, as well as baseball and softball returning after 13 years of their absence.

Finally, Covid-19 will — and already has — stated its presence in the games. Although all the athletes and staff are receiving tests every day, there is no vaccination requirement forced onto them, nevertheless, the International Olympic Committee officials estimate that 80% are at the moment. Since the games have started there have been more than 150 positive test results, and these numbers are likely to rise as the events proceed, however, there is no going back nor does the IOC plan to cancel these games.

Bibliography

Lardieri, A. (2021). Tokyo Olympics Confirms 16 New Coronavirus Cases, Pulling Athletes From Games. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-07-26/tokyo-olympics-confirms-16-new-coronavirus-cases-pulling-athletes-from-games

McCluskey, M. (2021, July 21). Your Guide to New and Returning Sports at the Tokyo Olympics. Time. https://time.com/6079499/new-sports-tokyo-olympics/

N.A. (2017, December 13) Tokyo 2020 to organise innovative and engaging Games. [Photograph] International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/tokyo-2020-to-organise-innovative-and-engaging-games

Regan, H. & Lendon, B. (2021, July 25). July 25 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/tokyo-2020-olympics-07-25-21-spt/index.html

Shaw, M. (2021, July 23) Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony: Every piece of music played at the event. [Photograph] Classic FM. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-music/

Specter, E. (2021, July 22). Everything You Need to Know About the Tokyo Olympics. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/how-to-watch-the-tokyo-olympics

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