TOKYO — The COVID-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics officially begins with a parade of athletes (more than 200 of them from Team USA), waving flags and marching inside a mostly-empty stadium. It's not clear yet what else will happen during the opening ceremony which is usually a chance to showcase the host country and inspire pride from countries throughout the world.
But these are no ordinary Games, with strict restrictions in place to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Even things behind the scenes are strange: just days ago, the ceremony's creative director and musical composer were both fired.
Kentaro Kobayashi, a former Japanese comedian and manga artist, was ousted from his post directing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee announced his resignation after news reports surfaced that in 1998, Kobayashi and his comedy partner had parodied a Japanese children's TV show. In a skit, he reportedly held up small paper dolls and joked "Let's play holocaust."
Tokyo 2020 president Hashimoto Seiko announced Kobayashi's dismissal, and read aloud a letter of apology he penned. Kobayashi wrote that he realized he had made a mistake in his act, and that he had decided to aim for laughter that does not hurt people. In his more recent stage shows, Kobayahi's comedic stylings have included pantomiming on stage sets that resemble animated sketch drawings.
https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/23/1019587579/an-olympic-opening-ceremony-for-an-olympics-like-none-other
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