Sigi's tips: Olympic opening without spectators

It could be - and I'm quite self-critical - that I didn't understand something. When I hear the word “opening,” I associate it with something starting now. A hat shop, for example, opens its doors. For the first time you can buy summer hats here. A gift shop is selling masks for the first time. Namely those that are urgently needed at the Venice Carnival. And if you're looking for something different, you'll find it. Bacon and wine, for example, have long been popular souvenirs, although when you get home you realize that both somehow tasted better in your holiday destination. It's also a matter of your head, as it is now at the Olympic Games.

The fragile structure between the ears actually tells us that this event hasn't even started yet, because the so-called "opening ceremony" begins exactly on July 23rd at 20 p.m. Japanese period. So at 13 p.m. in Europe. Then the big spectacle begins, which then fights against Covid-19 and all possible variants for fourteen days. So nothing can happen before then, you think. Opening is like a new section of motorway, which is only released by important politicians by cutting a ribbon with scissors. The aim is to suggest that everyone at the forefront of this event personally helped to make the project a reality, which is of course nonsense. Of all the fine ladies and gentlemen, none of them had a shovel in their hand. Now at the Olympics it's like driving on this new highway with the accelerator depressed. There was an opening. This is just another item on the program.

The Olympics have already started for the softball players. © APA/afp / YUMA SUGURO

Two days before the participating athletes marched into the new national stadium in Tokyo, the Olympics had already started. Softball was played. This is a variant of baseball and is very popular and widespread as a popular sport, especially in the USA. The softball virus has not yet arrived in Europe, but another sport that doesn't give a damn about the timing of the official opening ceremony is the biggest hit in this country: football.

Yes, the kickers are also Olympic, but in a slimmed-down form. With the exception of three players, all others must be U21 players. The motto could be a chance for young talent. However, it was simply the case that the International Football Association (FIFA) set these rules in order not to devalue its own World Cup through the Olympic tournament. And so the Ivory Coast team plays against Saudi Arabia. Mexico meets France, Germany even faces Brazil. These are preliminary round games. And because everyone who plays softball and soccer has to play a lot of games like this in order to eventually make it to the finals, it starts before it even starts.

It is still incomprehensible and a shame because it takes away much of the uniqueness of the big event of the opening ceremony. And then comes the question: Does such an event even have to take place? Especially these days in Tokyo. If it were a hat shop or one for small gifts, I could understand it. It's about sales. But the opening ceremony will only cost money, time and immense effort, because it will be a pure television spectacle lasting several hours.

The Olympians themselves are the ones to pity the most. There are no cheers from the stands. They are alone together in thousands. It must be a terrible feeling for the respective flag bearers to wave their flag without experiencing a reaction. I still remember the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich very well, which started out as a cheerful game. For each nation, a small rhythm corresponding to the country was played. The people rejoiced and showered everyone who marched with applause. And no matter how hard the Japanese try for this opening ceremony, it will be sad and lifeless. This time the speeches and the Olympic protocol should have been dispensed with. The games have already started anyway, even though the fire hasn't been lit yet. Still, I'm excited to see how it all turns out. I will be commenting on this event on Eurosport and I already know that comparisons with all the other opening ceremonies that I have accompanied (since Barcelona 1992) are impossible given the special circumstances.

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Sigi's tips: Olympic opening without spectators

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