The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has taken off despite the COVID-19 difficulties it faced. New rules are being implemented to have a "safe and secure Olympics."
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to start on July 23 and end on August 9. Fans are barred from attending the games in person, so keep an eye on various channels to watch the events online.
The international event where nations send out their representatives for various sporting competition has finally begun! There are, however, important highlights for the Tokyo Olympics in relation to the ongoing pandemic.
Initially, the Tokyo Olympics had plans to be canceled since Japan suffered spikes in COVID-19 infections. However, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga believed that the Olympics should continue and issued additional protocols in an attempt to keep the athletes safe, according to Cnet.
Vaccinations are not mandatory for Olympic athletes. However, the audience and spectators are barred from attending the games. The Washington Post reported that overseas folks would have their tickets refunded.
Fortunately, interested viewers can still watch its progress online.
Tokyo Olympics 2021
Note that the event taking place is still referred to as the "Tokyo 2020 Olympics." Yahoo! Sports said that the naming system stems from the postponement of the Games last March 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. At that time, organizers agreed to keep the name "Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020" for this year's event.
The 2021 competition would be different from last year based on its event logo. This year's Olympics has a full checkered circle design, described as "the traditional Japanese color of indigo blue expresses a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan," per Cnet.
Tokyo Olympics TV schedule
The Olympics TV schedule would be streamed online through selected channels. It is important to remember that Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of the West Coast, so that live streams might come out at night.
- NBC: The main channel offers live coverage for the event. US residents won't need a cable or satellite TV subscription when using this channel.
- Peacock: This streaming service offers live coverage for all the events for free except for US men's basketball which requires a Premium Pass
- YouTube TV: Subscribing to YouTube TV costs $65 a month. However, this gives access to channels like NBC, NBCN, CNBC, USA Network, Olympics Channel, Golf Channel and Telemundo.
- Hulu Live TV: This subscription offers the same price and channels similar to YouTube TV.
- Fubo TV: This subscription offers the same price and channels similar to YouTube TV.
- AT & T TV: Basic subscription service is priced at $70 and rises up to $95 per month to include Olympics Channel and Golf Channel
- Sling TV Blue: Subscribing to Sling TV costs $35 and includes channels like NBC, NBCN, USA Network, Olympics Channel.
The Tokyo Olympics events will run for two weeks in total, featuring a select number of games different for each day. If you missed out on watching a specific event, then don't worry. Most of the subscription services listed above also provide replays after the event ends.
