And so I watched the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and felt sorry for all the efforts of the organisers, volunteers and athletes in the vastly empty rebuilt National Stadium, and yet again I reminded myself that plenty others were also watching the Ceremony live alongside me, albeit in vastly different timezones.
Must admit that I couldn't initially understand the performance, especially the segment on "Wings of Change", as I was too busy exclaiming in surprise at the performers, some of whom seemed to be of special needs. I was quite heartened by the effort the organizers took to include many performers with disability and special needs, and it was wonderful to see them spotlighted in such a huge international event.
The Parade of Athletes is something I was look forward to. Do countries dress their Olympians and Paralympians in the same outfit? Some countries apparently do - Italy for sure. Some countries don't and I wonder why. Some countries chose to showcase a little of their heritage and colours during the Parade. I didn't notice any athlete entering the Stadium without his/her mask on, which I appreciated. One country was not forgotten and its flag was carried into the Stadium.
The multi-coloured fireworks were pretty. I didn't stay for the speeches, as I was kinda afraid of the overly longwinded speeches made during the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
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