Olympics 2021 Opening Ceremony Schedule

Olympics 2021 Opening Ceremony Schedule

Getty The Olympic rings

The 2021 Summer Olympic Games kick off in Tokyo, Japan with the traditional Opening Ceremony that features a parade of nations and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Here is the schedule for the Opening Ceremony festivities of the XXXII Olympiad.

All times Eastern.

The Opening Ceremony Schedule

For the first time ever, NBC is broadcasting the Opening Ceremony live in the morning across all time zones. The festivities kick off at 6:55 a.m. Eastern/3:55 a.m. Pacific on Friday, July 23. The Opening Ceremony takes place in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, and here is what viewers can look forward to, according to the Olympics press release:

  • No spectators, but there will be fireworks and flagbearers as part of the Parade of Nations, led by Greece, which is tradition, followed by the rest of the countries in Japanese alphabetical order. Host country Japan will enter the stadium last.
  • The Olympic oath will be taken by the officials, coaches, and athletes. The 2021 oath “has been significantly adapted in order to highlight the importance of solidarity, inclusion, non-discrimination and equality.”
  • The lighting of the Olympic cauldron will start with a “spectacular artistic display as the flame enters the city’s Olympic Stadium,” then the cauldron will be lit at “Tokyo’s waterfront city.”
  • The theme for the Opening Ceremony is “United by Emotion,” which is “underpinned by the idea the Games can bring fresh hope and encouragement to people around the world – both through the active appearance of athletes and through the power of sport.”

The press release continues:

NBC’s Broadcast Schedule

NBCUniversal said in a press release that it is providing “unprecedented full-day coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics” on July 23. Savannah Guthrie and Mike Tirico will serve as hosts for the Opening Ceremony, with track and field reporter Lewis Johnson and swimming reporter Michele Tafoya on the scene as well. It is Guthrie’s first Opening Ceremony, but Tirico’s second following his hosting of the 2018 Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang, China.

6:55 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: Live Opening Ceremony Coverage
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Special Edition of “Today”
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Tokyo Olympics Daytime
7:30 p.m. – Midnight: Primetime Opening Ceremony
12:35 a.m. – 1:38 a.m.: Special Edition of “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”
1:38 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.: Encore of Opening Ceremony

NBC’s primetime broadcast will feature extensive coverage of the USA athletes via interviews with Johnson and Tafoya, plus Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on hand to introduce Team USA. Broadway performer Leslie Odom Jr. will appear to tell a story “of the hopes and dreams of Olympians,” and actress Uma Thurman will narrate a special feature.

The 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics take place from Friday, July 23 until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, August 8.

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