Karate and skateboarding to make their debut in summer Olympic Games in Tokyo next month

Tokyo is hosting the Olympic Games next month, the second time the city will be hosting the Games after 1964. But although the opening ceremony is slated for July 23 and the closing ceremony to coincide with the Marathon on August 8, 2021, the Games will still be known as 2020 Olympics. Held every four years, the Games were due last year but was postponed for the very first time because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, all signage, television graphics, souvenirs, apparel and even the medals won by athletes will say ‘Tokyo 2020’.

The pandemic has cast a shadow and although 11,000 athletes and 25,000 journalists are still expected in Tokyo from 170 countries, spectators will be almost exclusively Japanese barring VIP guests. Attendance has been capped at 50% of the capacity or 10,000 whichever is lower. Athletes will not be allowed to move freely or take public transport. All visitors and athletes will be vaccinated although Japanese health experts are still advising against allowing spectators. Watching the Games on TV would be a better option, they say. The organizing Committee does not agree. The elderly in Japan still talk about what they saw in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 and the present generation should not be deprived of a similar experience is the argument. What is more, the Tokyo Olympics aims to celebrate mankind’s victory over the pandemic and the victory would look incomplete without spectators.

The mascot: Miraitowa is a blue-checkered cartoon character resides in the digital realm but has the ability to transport itself to the real world. Its name is a combination of two Japanese words: mirai, meaning “future,” and towa, which means “eternity”. Miraitowa was created by Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi following a competition involving 2,000 mascot designs.

New Olympic sports: Karate was formally added to the Olympic programme in 2016. Skateboarding also makes it debut in Tokyo Olympics with a street event, an obstacle course of sorts that features rails, stairs and ramps; and a park event is a giant bowl that skateboarders use to perform a variety of tricks.

There’s a new cycling discipline called BMX freestyle. It will feature cyclists performing a series of tricks and jumps in a park loaded with ramps and obstacles. Sport climbing is also making its debut along with surfing. While basketball has been a staple of the Olympic programme since 1936 —Tokyo Games will introduce a 3-on-3 basketball version of the familiar game. Baseball and softball, dropped after 2008 are also staging a comeback.