The sky of Tokyo is illuminated with the tricolor flame of the Paralympic movement

The tricolor flame (blue, red and green) of the Paralympic movement has illuminated the sky of Tokyo during the opening ceremony of a Games that they do not have the participation of Afghan athletes, honored during the gala, but with a team of refugees who opened a parade that was attended by 162 countries.

With no public at the stadium due to strict security measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the few attendees at the ceremony were able to enjoy a story unfolding at an airport and with the wings of planes as protagonists, as a metaphor for the drive that drives athletes with disabilities to reap extraordinary successes in their lives.

The Japanese national flag, which has been worn throughout the gala in a privileged spot near the peveter, has been carried to the center of the stadium by six prominent Paralympic athletes (Miki Matheson, Mineho Ozaki Taiyo Imai, Erina Yuguchi, Kaori Icho i Lluita Takumi Asatani) to the beat of the piano melody by Nobuyuki Tsujii, a young blind pianist who has already performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Then, Hirari Sato has been in charge of put voice to the Japanese anthem.

This musical moment has given way to the entry on stage of a giant propeller that has been sending red, green and blue balloons from three directions, while some contemporary dancers, led by Kaiji Moriyama, were moving with the bursts of wind.

378 fireworks, also of three colors, have changed the script tuning to electronics to start the parade of the 162 participating countries in these Games, three more than in Rio de Janeiro, including Paraguay, Bhutan, the Maldives and the Caribbean islands of Granada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which debut at the world’s largest event for the sport of people with disabilities.

The first to parade were the six members of the refugee team, Afghan swimmer Abbas Karimi, three Syrians (swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein, shuttle Alia Issa and canoeist Anas Al Khalifa), Burundi taekwondist Parfait Hakizimana and Iranian discus thrower Shahrad Nasajpour.

The Afghan delegation, which cannot be present in Tokyo due to the migration and political crisis that the country is suffering after the arrival of the Taliban in the capital, Kabul, has not fallen into oblivion. The International Paralympic Committee wanted to keep them in mind waving their flag in solidarity with her athletes and a volunteer has been in charge of marching with her.

This explosion of color that has meant the parade has followed with another in which several disguised artists have been carried away by the movement of the scenography made by Yohei Taneda, art director of the film ‘The secret world of ‘Arriety’ and who has worked with the Ghibli studio.

The institutional speeches were opened by Seiko Hashimoto, President of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, who highlighted the Tokyo’s prominence as the first city in history to hold these Games twice after doing so for the first time in 1964.

“The previous time brought a development of sports for people with disabilities, while accelerating their independence and social participation. Now, we have the mission of change the future of the world with the strength of athletes for a society of coexistence where people can be without any obstacles “, he confessed.

Andrew Parsons, president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, wanted to thank “all the athletes for the effort made to be” in Tokyo, in a Games that he described as “insurance by the protocols decreed” by the Organizing Committee.

“We have the honor of holding Games that will change the perception of people with disabilities because we want to change this perception that still exists in many parts of the world made this group that represents 15% of society,” he confessed.

“Paralympic athletes represent the best of humanity and you, the athlete, have to be the only one who has to decide what you want to be,” he stressed.

Electric guitars have also played a leading role in the ceremony with the performance of one rock quartet led by Tomoyasu Hotei, one of the most famous Japanese guitarists, author of the song ‘Battle Without Honor Or Humanity’ for Quentin Tarantino’s film ‘Kill Bill’.

The final brooch has put it on the lighting of the peveter. Kuniko Obinata, triple medalist in alpine skiing, Takeuchi Mashiko, former table tennis player and gold medalist in Tokyo’64, i Mayumi Narita, winner of fifteen golds in swimming, have entered the stadium carrying three torches, which were given to three anonymous citizens. These, in turn, have been handed over to Paralympic athletes Yui Kamichi (tennis), Shunsuke Uchida (box) i Karin Morisaki (weightlifting), who have been in charge of climbing the last meters, in their wheelchairs, to light the peveter, which has illuminated the sky of Tokyo with a spark caused by a thousand fireworks.