INTERNATIONAL: Friday sees the official opening of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Opening Ceremony is being attended by barely a thousand people and kicks off at 6pm, Cambodian time, Friday evening. Cambodia is represented by three athletes: two swimmers and one runner. This Olympic edition promises to be unique thanks to, or despite, the pandemic and a few disciplines have kicked off ahead of time, with fans celebrating however they can.
Final security checks were being conducted Friday morning at Japan's National Stadium just hours ahead of the opening ceremony. Some competitions already started on Wednesday including softball and soccer, with hosts Japan earning an extra-time victory against Mexico in softball, joining United States at 2-0 in the standings.
On the streets of Tokyo, Japanese cheerleaders were seen dancing and waving their pom-poms outside a Tokyo train station on Thursday to show their support for Olympic athletes. A passer-by told Reuters that seeing the cheerleaders trying hard in this sort of environment makes him want to do his best and maybe this is also what the Olympic Games are really all about.
