The five Olympic rings were removed from the city four months ago after the games were postoned to 2021 owing to COVID-19 pandemic.
When the Tokyo Olympics was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was fear that the marquee sporting event would be cancelled. When the Olympic Rings were taken down at Tokyo Bay, there was a feeling of gloom and doom in Japan. It felt that the Olympics might not be held. However, in a big development on Tuesday, the five Olympic rings are back in Tokyo Bay, where the games will be hosted. The rings were removed for maintenance four months ago following the postponement of the games to next year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rings arrived on a short cruise from Yokohama on Tuesday and are placed on a barge in the shadow on Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge.
The five gigantic rings - blue, black, red, green and yellow - are about 15 metres tall and 33 metres in length, which is about 50 feet tall and 100 feet in length. The rings will be put to light at night and indicate the coming of the Tokyo Olympics, which will kick-off on July 23, 2021, followed by Paralympics from August 24. The display of the Olympic Rings is a symbol that the world is fighting back against the coronavirus pandemic after life was brought to a standstill in the early periods of April and May 2020.
The reappearance of the rings after late March hint at the increasing confidence of the organisers and the International Olympics Committee of getting over 15,000 athletes safely in Japan during a pandemic.
The upcoming Olympics will be different to the ones held in the past, as these depend on many other external factors. Availability of vaccine, rapid testing of COVID-19, strict adherence to rules and regulations, which include quarantines, a cap on the number of fans at the venues, athletes leaving Japan, immediately after their competitions come to an end.
While the organisers have still been vague about intricacies of how Olympics will be held, as there's still around 7-month time, the picture should get clearer in early 2021.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
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