Cut through the noise by getting the day's biggest stories sent direct to your inbox After being postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Olympics are finally kicking off in Tokyo this week.
Anticipation is mounting in Japan ahead of a stripped-back official opening ceremony on Friday (July 23), which will take place in a virtually empty national stadium.
The event was postponed in March 2020 as countries faced strict lockdowns to try and slow the spread of Covid-19. Previous editions of the Games had been cancelled during the First and Second World Wars - but this was the first time that the Olympic Games had ever been postponed and rescheduled.
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