One of New Zealand’s Olympic flagbearers made a late scramble to make it to Tokyo for tonight’s opening ceremony.
Flag bearers Hamish Bond and Sarah Hirini will lead the 16-strong New Zealand delegation in the scaled-down opening ceremony.
Just 950 people will be watching on from inside Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, as a limited number of socially distanced, and masked athletes get the Games underway.
Hirini was in a late scramble to even make the opening ceremony.
The sevens star had been with the rest of her squad in Townsville and had been due to arrive in Tokyo yesterday.
However, a delayed flight meant missed connections and Hirini was only able to touch down in the Japanese capital this morning, just hours out from flying the New Zealand flag on the biggest stage.
Despite the limited numbers and subdued atmosphere, the opportunity to compete at an Olympics remains an honour for New Zealand's flagbearers.
"Perhaps in years to come, once my girls get a little bit older and understand what the Olympics is, the can watch some file footage and say 'look there's dad' and maybe that's when it will sink in what an honour carrying the flag is," Bond said.
Tennis duo Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell will also be among those marching, with Venus telling 1 NEWS it would fulfil a childhood dream.
"It's something as kids we really enjoyed watching and we really want to be a part of it."
The show itself will also have to go on without its director, who was sacked on the eve of the performance for anti-Semitic jokes, while major sponsors have also pulled out.
Protests have continued over the Games going ahead, with claims profit has been put ahead of public health.
There were nearly 2000 new Covid-19 cases in Tokyo yesterday - a six-month high - and fans are now banned from all the Games venues, much to the disappointment of some locals.
"Without the pandemic, everyone would have been really excited about the Olympics and had a lot of fun, so it's a real shame," 50-year-old Tokyo resident Yukie Isoda said.
WATCH THE OLYMPICS: TVNZ 1 and TVNZ OnDemand feature 12 hours of free-to-air action focussed on Kiwi athletes each afternoon and evening, while Sky TV has Olympics coverage across 12 channels and streaming platforms.
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