4 days before the opening ceremony, 850K people log in to watch virtual Olympic festival

TOKYO: Just four days before the official opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games about 850000 people logged in to watch an online festival taking place in a virtual Olympic stadium. Children from around the world were invited to submit artwork to be shown during the live event.

Originally the organisers had planned to host the "wassai" festival in the actual Olympic Stadium, but the plans fell victim to the pandemic early on.

"Our goal this time is to bring the world together, even if only virtually to bring people into a circle (Wa), so even if you're not there in person there is a feeling of unity, and that's what we wanted to achieve as the Games will have no spectators," project director Taro Nishimura said.


The diversity-themed event featured live performances by singer Aoi Yamada and model Myu Ashihara.

Over 2000 children's illustrations were submitted ahead of the event hosted by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee.