Tokyo Paralympics Opening Ceremony: New Zealand to skip event due to COVID-19 concerns

With just a couple of hours left before the Tokyo Paralympics Opening Ceremony takes place, para-athletes from New Zealand will miss the Opening Ceremony due to COVID-19 fears. With no flagbearers for the Tokyo Paralympics opening ceremony, New Zealand Paralympics Team have named Sophie Pascoe and William Stedman as Hāpai Kara of the team. According to the Facebook post have been chosen as they are a symbol and embodiment of the Paralympic values for the rest of the team, serving as a reminder to others about what the New Zealand Paralympic Team stand for and what the team can showcase to New Zealand and the world.

New Zealand will miss Opening Ceremony

Paula Tesoriero the Chef de Mission for New Zealand Paralympics contingent said: “Sophie and William have both excelled within their sports and are both the exemplar of our Paralympic values – courage, determination, inspiration, and equality. We are thrilled to announce their appointment as Hapai Kara for the New Zealand Paralympic Team.”

She further said: “The Opening Ceremony is a wonderful occasion and we acknowledge that some people may be disappointed that we will not be attending the Opening Ceremony.  The Opening Ceremony by its very nature brings together large numbers of people from multiple nations. As a team, we are operating as an NZ bubble and within that individual sport bubbles and therefore the exposure of team members to large groups of people from many nations is not aligned with our commitment to our Covid-19 protocols and operating procedures aimed at keeping our team as safe as possible particularly in light of the growing number of cases in Tokyo.”

Details about the start of the Tokyo Paralympics 2021 

The Tokyo Paralympics Opening Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, August 24 and the live streaming will start at  4:30 pm Indian Standard Time. The Tokyo Paralympics Games will feature 539 events across 22 sports to be hosted at 21 venues. This years event will also see some athletes set to make history by becoming the first Paralympians from their countries to compete at a Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020. Athletes from Bhutan, Guyana, Maldives, Paraguay and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will be making their debut at the event.

The live streaming of the event can be seen on eurosportplayer.com and paralympic.org throughout the duration of the Paralympic Games. Doordarshan will broadcast the Indian events at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020.