Tokyo Olympics open, late
July 23, 2021
Postponed by a year and held in empty stadiums because of COVID, Japan's second Summer Games opened in surreal silence. Athletes performed on television to no crowd at all. Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron. Gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from events for her mental health, opening a conversation that the sport had needed.
In context
Also in 2021 (8 other events on record)
- Taliban return to Kabul · Central Asia · War
- U.S. Capitol stormed · North America · Politics
- James Webb Space Telescope launches · North America · Science
- Perseverance lands on Mars · North America · Science
- Myanmar coup · Southeast Asia · Politics
- Omicron variant emerges · Africa · Disaster
Before and after in East Asia
Before and after in Culture
Era
Contemporary (2001–2026), one of 196 events from that era on Saeculum.