By the time the final member of Japan’s Olympic team has entered the stadium at the tail-end of Friday’s opening procession, Seonaid McIntosh – pronounced “show-ner” – will have set her alarm for a 5am start to catch the first bus from the Village on Saturday morning, in the hope of returning as the first […]

In 1964, the Tokyo Olympics were dubbed the “Technology Games”. Up in the skies, satellites were used to televise all the action live for the first time. Computers abounded and spectators and TV viewers had never had it so good. Sign up for our Tokyo 2020 briefing with all the news, views and previews for

What impact will Covid have? The greatest impact of Covid on the Games, other than the fact it is being held a year late, will be the absence of spectators. Venues won’t be silent, however, with “an immersive sound system” playing “sound created from previous Olympic Games” – which means that vocal ticket holders from

As the Rio Olympics dominated the sports world’s gaze five years ago, an NFL quarterback began a series of protests against racism that rippled across America and the world and will leave an indelible mark on this year’s Games. Colin Kaepernick last made an NFL appearance in the 2016 season, but the legacy of his

The British Olympic Association is resigned to the fact that six Team GB athletes will spend 14 days in enforced quarantine after failing in its attempts to spring them out. Hugh Robertson, the BOA chair, said they had been working “on an hourly basis” to help the athletes in Yokohama, as well as four staff

We shall never know, more’s the pity, what advice Sir Peter Blake would have given his niece as she prepared for an Olympic debut. What is at least certain is that Anna Burnet cherishes her family connection with Sir Peter, a famed New Zealand yachtsman who was shot dead at the mouth of the Amazon

After the World Cup in 2019, Manchester City’s Keira Walsh was hit so hard by the criticism she faced that she thought about stepping away from football. In France Walsh did not look like the player who had become so integral to City’s midfield and defensive strategy until the semi-final against USA, where she played

With a blaze of indigo and white fireworks lighting the night sky, the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has started. In a nearly empty national stadium, devoid of any crowd energy, it began with a single female athlete at the centre of the stadium, kneeling. As she stood, the shadow behind her took the shape of

The Olympics are upon us and even if there are no fans at the stadiums this year due to Covid-19, there are more than 300 events to watch on TV from the comfort of your sofa. Of course, you may have minor things like a job, family or life to spend your time on which

London, UK A canvas from a school in Egypt, is part of Turner prize winning artist Oscar Murillo’s global project Frequencies, at his former school in Hackney Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian