1,800 drones at Tokyo Olympics makes up for the lack of people at the opening ceremony

by Jessica Woods

TOKYO, JAPAN – Who needs human beings when you have 1,800 droves flying in synch with each other to make one of the greatest technological feats in Olympic history? On the official first day of the Olympics, the drones are what people are talking about? How many drones were there? How did the drones do it? Of course it wasn’t all about the drones. You can read that below, but here’s what 1,800 drones flying in the air together looked light in Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) worked with renowned composer Hans Zimmer to take viewers on a musical journey around the world. Starting in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, the Suginami Children’s Choir, representing Asia, passed the baton on to the artists from Africa, Europe, the Americas and Oceania, all of whom joined remotely. They were supported with music from TAIKOPROJECT and the Synchron Stage Orchestra and Stage Choir.

“This song reflects the values the Olympic Games stand for. It is a call for peace and brotherhood, for unity and solidarity,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. In his opening speech, he reiterated: “We can only go faster, we can only aim higher, we can only become stronger, if we stand together – in solidarity.”

Global artists Angélique Kidjo, Alejandro Sanz, John Legend, Keith Urban and the Suginami Children’s Choir brought all five continents together in today’s Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Hundreds of millions of people watched an emotional performance of “Imagine”, written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.


“Imagine” and the Olympic Games have crossed paths many times throughout the song’s history, as it communicates messages of solidarity, togetherness, hope and peace. For decades, artists, including Stevie Wonder (Atlanta 1996), Peter Gabriel (Turin 2006), the English children’s choir (London 2012) and K-Pop stars Ha Hyun-woo, Jeon In-kwon, Lee Eun-mi and Ahn Ji-young (PyeongChang 2018), have sung “Imagine” at Olympic ceremonies. These appearances have laid the foundation for a natural connection between the iconic song and the Olympic Games.

John Lennon himself was the first to connect his song to the Olympic Games when he said in an interview three days before he died: “We’re not the first to say ‘Imagine No Countries’ or ‘Give Peace a Chance’, but we’re carrying that torch, like the Olympic torch, passing it hand to hand, to each other, to each country, to each generation. And that’s our job.”

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the IOC worked with leading creatives to deliver an Opening Ceremony which showed that the world and its athletes are stronger together in a display of connection, unity and hope.

As the official start of the Olympic Games, the long-awaited and much anticipated Opening Ceremony was a moment Japan had been tirelessly preparing for, and one that the athletes – 60 per cent of whom will compete in only one Olympic Summer Games – have been waiting and training their entire lives for.

You appear to be using an ad blocker

Shore News Network is a free website that does not use paywalls or charge for access to original, breaking news content. In order to provide this free service, we rely on advertisements. Please support our journalism by disabling your ad blocker for this website.