Mixed bag: Erratic Pandemic Olympics come to a nuanced end

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Mixed bag: Erratic Pandemic Olympics come to a nuanced end

By TED ANTHONY
August 8, 2021

TOKYO (AP) — It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything.

The Tokyo Olympics, christened with “2020” but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world.

A rollicking closing ceremony with the theme “Worlds We Share” — an optimistic but ironic notion at this human moment — featured everything from stunt bikes to intricate light shows as it tried to convey a “celebratory and liberating atmosphere” for athletes after a tense two weeks. It pivoted to a live feed from Paris, host of the 2024 Summer Games. And with that, the strangest Olympic Games on record closed their books for good.

Held in the middle of a resurging pandemic, rejected by many Japanese and plagued by months of administrative problems, these Games presented logistical and medical obstacles like no other, offered up serious conversations about mental health — and, when it came to sport, delivered both triumphs and a few surprising shortfalls.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-closing-ceremony-coronavirus-pandemic-2d67aa2775d4ba9716eedd432968ef91


Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

[Mosby]

1. All things considered, I thought it went pretty well.