Tokyo’s marathon journey to the start of the Olympics

Since being awarded the Games in 2013, Japan has endured a backlash over costs, allegations of plagiarism and misogyny and a COVID-19 pandemic.

A year after they were supposed to start, the Tokyo Olympics will officially get underway with a three-and-a-half-hour opening ceremony on July 23. The event at the National Stadium in the Japanese capital is designed to celebrate the world’s “unity in diversity” and provide encouragement to the more than 11,000 athletes who will compete in the Games, mostly without the benefit of crowds to cheer them on. After a journey across Japan’s 47 prefectures involving some 10,000 runners, the Olympic flame will be the centrepiece of the ceremony.