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2020 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

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2020 Summer Olympics
closing ceremony
The Parade of Athletes during the Closing Ceremony. On the stadium's side screens, the Olympic motto, "Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together" is displayed.
Date8 August 2021; 3 years ago (2021-08-08)
Zeit20:00 – 22:19 JST (UTC+9)
StandortTokyo, Japan
Theme"Moving Forward: Worlds we share"[1]
Filmed byThe Japan Consortium and OBS
Olympic rings
Part of a series on
2020 Summer Olympics

The closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics took place in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on 8 August 2021.[2] The proceedings combined the formal ceremonial closing of this international sporting event (including closing speeches,[3] the parade of athletes[4] and the handover of the Olympic flag[5]) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the culture and history of the current and next host nation (France) for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[6] The theme of the Olympic Ceremonies was Moving Forward, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic, with the closing ceremony theme being Worlds we share.[7]

The closing ceremony was largely pre-recorded with some live segments.[8] Performers adhered to social distancing measures during the live portions. In lieu of a moment of silence for the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing,[9] the ceremony included a "moment of remembrance", consisting of dances and other performances representing and highlighting the culture of Japan.[4][10]

Preparations

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) gave the first report of preparations in December 2017, with the release of the "Basic Policy" document for the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies.[11] The document was based upon feedback from experts and opinions of the Japanese public[12] and includes the foundational elements for the positioning and overall concept of the four ceremonies.[11] The Olympic opening ceremony introduced the themes and concepts of the 4 ceremonies, including peace, coexistence, reconstruction, the future, Japan and Tokyo, the athletes and involvement.[13]

The opening and closing ceremonies has had three different directors as its Chief Creative Director. Between July 2018 and December 2020, Mansai Nomura, an actor in traditional Japanese theater, was the Chief Creative Director.[14][15] Normura stepped down from the role and becoming an advisor. Between December 2020 and March 2021, Hiroshi Sasaki was Chief Creative Director,[16] until Sasaki resigned after making a derogatory comment about Japanese comedian and fashion icon Naomi Watanabe.[17][18] The reports came a month after Yoshirō Mori, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, resigned over derogatory comments made about female members of the Committee.[19] Since March 2021, Takayuki Hioki, managing director of Sports Branding Japan,[20] has been the Deputy Chief Ceremonies Officer and Executive Producer.[1]

Italian Marco Balich, head of Balich Worldwide Shows, was the Senior Adviser to the Executive Producer.[21] Balich performed these functions also during the production of the ceremonies on 2006 Winter Olympics, 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics,[22] [23] among another events as 2019 Pan American Games and 2019 Summer Universiade.[24] In a interview,in July 2019, he mentioned that his involvement would be in partnership with the Japanese advertising company Dentsu.[25] Dentsu's creative director for these ceremonies, Kaoru Sugano, resigned in January 2020 over harassment claims.[26]

COVID-19 impact

In a preview press release, "Moving Forward" would be consistent theme for both 2020 Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The ceremonies would be linked by the concept of "Moving Forward", a reference to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. "We have designed the ceremonies around the concept that the Games can bring fresh hope and encouragement to people around the world through the active appearance of athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Games and via the power of sport", organisers declared.[7] This was expected, as just after the postponement, Balich went on record that the crisis would be mentioned at some point during the ceremony due to its significance at the games.[27]

The closing ceremony theme was "Worlds we share" which is expected to cover themes of diversity & inclusion and a brighter and better future.[7]

Much of the artistic and cultural sections of the ceremony adhered to social distancing guidelines and the majority of segments were pre-recorded.[8] Before the announcement of barring spectators were made, ticket prices for the Closing Ceremony were expected to range between ¥12,000 and ¥300,000.[28][29]

Venue

The Japan National Stadium served as the main stadium for the closing ceremony. Demolition of the old National Stadium was completed in May 2015, followed by the construction of the new stadium which began at the same site on 11 December 2016.[30] The stadium was handed over to the IOC on 30 November 2019 for necessary games and ceremony preparations. Capacity during the Olympic Games was 60,102 taking into account press and executive seating areas.[31]

Proceedings

Many sequences of the ceremony were pre-recorded, due to COVID restrictions including traditional Ainu dancers from Hokkaido.[8]

Welcome and Anthem

Thomas Bach, Crown Prince Fumihito and Yoshihide Suga (at Japan National Stadium on August 8, 2021)

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Crown Prince Fumihito entered the stadium while a theme from the film Tokyo Story played.[32][33]

The Japanese flag entered into the stadium with 4 former Japanese athletes, a healthcare worker and a fashion model[32] while the stadium ground was framed like a Tokyo park with grass all around. It was handed to members of the Japanese defence forces, who were present during the majority of medal ceremonies in these games. The National Anthem of Japan was performed by the performance group Takarazuka Revue in kimono.

Parade of Athletes

The flag bearers then arrived in a two by two configuration, until they reach the middle of the stadium.[32] They then surround the middle circle of the stadium floor. After the flags arrived at the stadium a highlights video of the events from all sports was shown.

Once the athletes all arrived, the lights went out and the athletes were asked to turn on a light (such as a light on their smartphone) where then an augmented reality (or taped) segment played to show the athletes were united under the Olympic rings.[32]

An Afternoon at the Park

This segment was to show a day at the park in Tokyo while also showcasing Japanese popular music. The organisers also stated the segment was for the athletes: "Despite having come to Tokyo, the athletes have not had the opportunity to see or experience Tokyo for themselves."[32] The musical portion featured performances by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, milet, DJ Matsunaga and the Tokyo High School Orchestra (which they performed remotely via pre-recorded material) performing a medley featuring Gurenge, Sukiyaki, Ode to Joy from Symphony No. 9 and Hymne à l'amour.[34] This was the first appearance of Ode to Joy since the Sydney 2000 and Nagano 1998 opening ceremonies.[35]

Award Ceremonies

Marathon Award Ceremonies

Main articles: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon

The National Anthem of Greece was played before the marathon award ceremonies to link the Ancient Olympics to the Modern Olympics.[36] President of the IOC Thomas Bach and International Association of Athletics Federations President Lord Sebastian Coe presented the medals to Peres Jepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei and Molly Seidel for the Women's marathon, and to Eliud Kipchoge, Abdi Nageeye and Bashir Abdi for the Men's marathon.

IOC Athletes Commission

The new members of the IOC Athletes Commission were introduced and presented bouquets to Tokyo 2020 volunteers.[32]

We Remember

A lone dancer (Aoi Yamada) performed as performers circled around the stage carrying lanterns. Festival dances from across Japan were performed including Ainu indigenous dance from Hokkaido, Eisa from Okinawa, Nishinomai Bon Odori from Akita and Gujō Odori from Gifu. Performers in yukata performed the Gujō Odori around the stage backed by a drummer and two singers, the volunteers and the athletes joining in.

Antwerp Ceremony

Before the Antwerp Ceremony, The Olympic Anthem was performed by Tomotaka Okamoto as the Olympic flag was lowered.[36]

The Antwerp Ceremony is a tradition that has been held at every closing ceremony since 1920. The Olympic flag retired from the stadium and was sent to Paris during the playing of the Olympic Anthem.[citation needed] After the Olympic Anthem was played, Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo, passed the flag to IOC President Thomas Bach, who handed the Olympic flag over to Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris. The raising of the flag of France followed and the Paris 2024 presentation began. This was the first time in Olympic history the flag passed from one woman to another woman. The Paris 2024 presentation followed, showcasing the French and Parisian cultures, which included music by Yoann Lemoine, better known as Woodkid, and the Orchestre National de France.[37]

See you in Paris 2024

Most of the Paris 2024 handover presentation was pre-recorded, in accordance with the safety measures and restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presentation started with a reimagined version of the National Anthem of France performed by the Orchestre National de France, led by the conductor Chloé Dufresne and arranged by Victor La Masne. The anthem was also performed by musicians in various locations across Paris such as the roof of Stade de France, inside the Louvre museum, the Square du Vert-Galant, La Recyclerie and the Skatepark Diderot. After the orchestra's performance, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet played the last few notes of the anthem on his saxophone from space.[5]

This signaled the start of the artistic segment and a short film called "Ride", directed by Valentin Petit and featuring music by Yoann Lemoine (Woodkid), starting with footage of the Earth seen from space. This act features young BMX rider Estelle Majal. She rides her bike across the roof from many famous landmarks in Paris such as the Palais-Royal, the Musée d'Orsay, the Palais Garnier and Le Panthéon, before ending with a shot of the iconic Eiffel Tower with a large CGI flag featuring the Paris 2024 emblem flying from the Eiffel Tower.[38] The real flag was initially planned to be raised live which would have broken a world record for the largest flag ever flown, but due to bad weather conditions in Paris, instead they used a CGI flag filmed during a test conducted on 8 June for the Olympic handover.[39][40][41]

After the film, Teddy Riner,Clarisse Agbegnenou and other French athletes with medals who have returned from Tokyo to join about 6,000 people of French Olympic fans watching the closing ceremony at the Trocadéro in celebrating the handover from Tokyo to Paris as the Patrouille de France flies over the Eiffel Tower, with smoke in the national colours of blue, white and red streaming across the Parisian skies, while young performers take the stage performing breakdancing, the newest sport on the Paris Olympic programme. Finally, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared from the top of the Eiffel Tower with some fans and delivered the new Olympic motto in French, "Plus vite, Plus haut, Plus fort — Ensemble" ("Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together") ending the Paris 2024 segment.[42][43]

After Macron's appearance, the president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet appears on stage and writes "Paris 2024" on a camera lens as the camera moves up to the blue skies of summer in Paris. The image is shown on the stadium screens whilst the Tokyo Skytree is shown in the national colours of France.

For the first time, about 95% of the Antwerp Ceremony and the Paris 2024 presentation were held in France, filmed and broadcast by satellite, as part of an Agenda 2020 plan implemented by the IOC. Local rights owners for the next Games (Discovery, Inc. (through Eurosport) and France Télévisions) were mainly involved for the Paris 2024 presentation as they handled most of the filming process for the presentation. This was the first time in Olympic history that such this closing ceremony act was produced, performed and broadcast outside the host city.[citation needed]

Closing Addresses

Seiko Hashimoto, President of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games spoke to the athletes "There are no words to describe what you have achieved."[44] "Tonight the Olympic Flame that has lit up Tokyo will quietly go out. But the hope that has been ignited here will never be extinguished. It will remain alight in the hearts of people all over the world as we continue to hope for peace in the spirit of Ekecheiria, a tradition unbroken from the ancient Olympic Games."[45] Her comments were ignored at the time, as a moth appeared on the podium.[46]

IOC President Thomas Bach declared the Games closed, calling them "the Games of hope, solidarity, and peace", and "call[ed] upon the youth of the world" to assemble in Paris for the following Summer Games in 2024.[47]

"A Stroll Among the Stars"

After the presentation and closing speeches, a scene showcasing astronomy and nano-space travel and a recap of the years that have passed after the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, the actual Games coming to an end and how the cauldron was extinguished and closed after the performances using "telekinetic powers". Due to "telekinesis" being impossible in real life the cauldron was closed manually. Then, the cauldron was closed into its original shape, the scene featured actress Shinobu Otake (with the Suginami Children's Chorus) singing the iconic song, "A Stroll Among the Stars". After that, a video showcasing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games was shown. The goodbye message featured the word "Arigato" which is written in the same font as the word "Sayonara" was during the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 closing ceremony using stop-motion toy cubes rather than scoreboard lettering. This was a homage to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, expressed gratitude to the athletes, the people who supported them, the tournament volunteers, the essential workers involved in medical care, food, transportation, among others, and the managers who continued to support them.[48][49]

Dignitaries in attendance

dignitaries in attendance (at Japan National Stadium on August 8, 2021)

Anthems

Victory ceremonies

Notes

  1. ^ Anthem played as part of the men's and women's marathon victory ceremonies.

References

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