Tokyo Olympics 2021: Opening ceremony watched by spectators from behind fences

A British delegation of just 22, including flag bearers Hannah Mills and Mohamed Sbihi, has marched at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics.

Athletes from canoe slalom, fencing, weightlifting, sailing, boxing, rowing and trampolining featured in the curtain-raiser, which is being held behind closed doors at the purpose-built Olympic Stadium.

A ring of steel has been erected around the stadium, meaning the excited locals, who had been due to be a part of the ceremony until the decision to ban spectators from the Games was made earlier this month, were left to watch those lucky enough to be allowed in from behind fences.

The ceremony began with a series of video montages culminating in a countdown and a brief fireworks display, which was greeted by a smattering of polite applause from the journalists and volunteers in the stadium.

The early sequences referenced the effects of Covid-19, with athletes seen training apart but connected, before the Japanese flag was carried into the arena.

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