The anniversary of Tokyo 2020, marked by the public and Abe’s death

The Tokyo Olympic Stadium host this Saturday ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the Games of the capital of Japan, where a hundred athletes and political figures participated in an event marked by the presence of the public and the memory of the former president Shinzo Abe.

Tokyo 2020, which has started on July 23, 2021a year late, tried to redeem itself Saturday in a ceremony attended by several 20,000 people, a fact that contrasts with the reality of the Games, which were held without an audience in the stands as a result of the global health crisis.

The act, performed in Tokyo Olympic Stadiumalso called the National Stadium, one of the few places still active, began with a parade in which athletes, politicians and the famous mascots of the Games participated: Miraitowa and Someity.

The public gathering inside the stadium has been reduced to less than a third of its capacity to prevent contagion, although activities are carried out inside and outside the stadium throughout the day, such as sports demonstrations or music performances .

At the beginning, a video was also shown in which the former Prime Minister was thanked Shinzo Abeone of the pillars of the Tokyo 2020 celebrations, his efforts to bring them to fruition with a message that says “we will never forget you”.

The message and minute of silence for the former president came after he died on July 8 at the age of 67 after suffering two gunshot wounds while giving a speech in front of a train station in the western city of Nara. country, within the framework of the campaign for the Upper House elections that took place on July 10.

“I would like to express my condolences again on Abe’s passing. He made a great effort to bring the Olympic Games here and make it successful”, thanks the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koikein his speech at the ceremony.

Recalling the Games one year later, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bachalso took the opportunity to thank Abe for his work and said that in celebration of the same “We managed not to lose a whole generation of athletes.”

From inside the stadium, however, cries of protest could also be heard from a dozen protesters who said the legacy of the games was “negative” and criticized their financial cost.

The Tokyo Olympics were officially postponed on March 24, 2020 and finally held a year later despite persistent rumors of their cancellation and unprecedented anti-contagion measures that included strict restrictions for those athlete

Finally, they have a cost of 1.42 billion yen (10,120 million euros), according to the latest version of the budget presented in June.

This doubles the estimated initial cost for the event by approx $7 billion (6,872 million euros) in 2013. The final figure includes the huge extra costs incurred from postponing the Games from their first scheduled date, as well as health measures against contagion.

The popular rejection that Tokyo 2020 faced before it was held and the bitter aftertaste it left in economic terms set an uncomfortable precedent for Japan’s bid to host the Winter Games in 2030in the northern city of Sapporo.