and so, more than 200 nations converged on a city in a state of emergency. all in masks, the british team for the night was trimmed down. just 22 of them marched, led by moe sbihi and hannah mills, a rower and a sailor. this games is a year late. the ioc s called it the light at the end of a tunnel. the pandemic forced us apart. this separation made this tunnel so dark. l but today, wherever in the world - you may be, we are united in sharing this moment together. 0ver four hours, there was fun and, too, the sense of an 0lympics as a tv event. it s showtime. but tokyo s showpiece has come with the world still in a pandemic. for the next 17 days, they want sport to be the focus. joe lynskey, bbc news. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks was watching
to 12 months of lockdown. at the front of it, japan s arisa tsubata, a boxer and a nurse who missed out on the games when her qualifier was cancelled. japan s flag, too, was brought on by key workers, waved on in the stands by around 1000 dignitaries. the build up has been fraught, but japan still wants to showjoy. and just like in 2012, there was tradition. these figures are daiku, traditional carpenters who sing as they chisel. tokyo were last host for the games in 1964, when trees were planted. the wood s being used for these olympic rings. and so, more than 200 nations converged on a city in a state of emergency. all in masks, the british team for the night was trimmed down. just 22 of them marched, led by moe sbihi and hannah mills, a rower and a sailor. this games is a year late.
the organisers still put on a spectacular show and a ceremony focusing on togetherness, connection and inclusion. only 22 of team gb were there, led by flag bearers hannah mills, the sailor and rower mo sbihi both gold medallists from rio 2016. and then the olympic flame entered the stadium and was passed to the final torchbearer naomi osaka, one of the faces of the games to light the cauldron which will burn for the next 16 days. jeannette kwayke is there for the bbc. it was just fantastic to see when the athletes came in, the energy that they brought to the ceremony. of course it was toned it down, it was understated and, for a lot of people watching, they were thinking of the spectacular things we may have seen it previous olympic games. but this was reflecting the time we are living in at the moment. and like you said, there were some standout moments the drone light up standout moments the drone light up was fantastic to watch, along with naomi osaka just now lighting the
japan s flag, too, was brought on by key workers, waved on in the stands by around 1000 dignitaries. the build up has been fraught, but japan still wants to showjoy. and just like in 2012, there was tradition. these figures are daiku, traditional carpenters who sing as they chisel. tokyo were last host for the games in 1964, when trees were planted. the wood s being used for these olympic rings. and so, more than 200 nations converged on a city in a state of emergency. all in masks, the british team for the night was trimmed down. just 22 of them marched, led by moe sbihi and hannah mills, a rower and a sailor. this games is a year late. the ioc s called it the light at the end of a tunnel. the pandemic forced us apart. this separation made this tunnel so dark.
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