Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Seven: Everything you need to know

Posted on 20 July 2021

• All the information you need about Tokyo 2020

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic delaying the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by a full year, the athletes have touched down in Japan and the Games are set to kick off this week.

Earlier this month, Japan announced they would be going ahead with a state of emergency due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, and as a result, Olympic venues in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama will not host fans during the Games.

The Games will be broadcast on Seven, and with Tokyo in almost the same time zone, the stage is set perfectly for Australians to see every moment of the Games’ 17 days.

Here is everything you need to know about the coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Coverage

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad are live on Seven in what will be the country’s biggest-ever broadcast and digital event. For the first time on Australian free-to-air television, there will be 45 dedicated Olympic channels across Seven and 7plus all live, free and in HD.

Seven’s broadcast begins on Wednesday 21 July (Day 2) with preliminary games in softball and football across Seven and 7plus.

Viewers will wake up to all the latest Olympic highlights, news and athlete interviews each day with Sunrise before Johanna Griggs, returning for her seventh Olympic Games coverage, steers Seven’s morning broadcast alongside Luke Darcy.

Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington and Edwina Bartholomew, who will be covering her third Olympic Games for Seven, then take the reins each afternoon.

Following 7News live at 6.00 every night of the Games, Hamish McLachlan and Abbey Gelmi will take audiences on a prime-time rollercoaster of competition.

As the night kicks on, viewers will be welcomed to Tokyo Shinya with Andy Maher, Lisa Sthalekar and Andrew Gaze, in a show that Seven is keeping the details of tightly under wraps.

Sixteen days after the Olympic Flame is extinguished in Tokyo, a new one will be lit, signalling the start of the Paralympic Games. Johanna Griggs, Paralympic gold medallist Annabelle Williams and Paralympics legend Kurt Fearnley will anchor Seven’s coverage across Seven and 7plus featuring up to 16 live streams.

7News chief correspondent Chris Reason and sports anchor Mel McLaughlin will lead a team of reporters, including Ashlee Mullany, Matthew Carmichael, Sharnelle Vella, Mylee Hogan, Rob Scott, Blake Johnson and Ryan Daniels, operating 24-hours a day from inside venues and alongside athletes.

Finally, 7News.com.au will be the online destination for Olympic news, updates and daily event schedules. The website will feature a hub for results and medal tallies, plus all the latest breaking news, content, features and stories from the Games.

See More: Bruce McAvaney and Lewis Martin on Seven’s Olympic Heritage
See More: Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Everything you need to know about the hosts
See More: Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Everything you need to know about the commentators

Opening Ceremony

In the Olympics Opening Ceremony this year roughly 50 athletes from Team Australia will be led by Cate Campbell and Patty Mills as they march in a near empty stadium.

Campbell will be the first female swimmer to carry the flag, and Mills is Australia’s first Indigenous flag bearer.

Organisers have not given much away about the show, only speaking about the theme of the night, which is Moving Forward.

Savannah Guthrie, who will host the Opening Ceremony on NBC, has spoken about the impact that the Covid-19 restrictions will have on the Opening Ceremony.

“We’re hoping that there will still be that energy and excitement, but of course it will be different, just like everything post-pandemic has changed. But they still plan to put on a really big, beautiful, patriotic show,” she said.

The Opening Ceremony coverage will begin at 8:30pm AEST for the ceremony to begin at 9pm on Friday, July 23. The ceremony will run be around four hours long.

See More: TV Guide: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Opening Ceremony

New Sports

There are a number of sports added to the Olympics this year. Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, 3×3 basketball, and karate will be on the lineup for the first time.

Softball and Baseball are returning, having been contested in Beijing 2008.

There are no Australian competitors in 3×3 basketball or baseball.

Australian Medal Hopefuls

There are a number of Aussies to keep an eye on in Japan.

Swimmers Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown both put on very impressive performances in selection trials, and are two of Australia’s strongest medal hopes.

Following her Wimbledon win, Ash Barty is looking for an Olympic gold medal to add to her trophy cabinet.

The Matildas are looking to take Australia’s first-ever Olympic football medal, lead by Sam Kerr.

Both of Australia’s basketball teams are working towards gold, with Patty Mills to lead the Boomers. In the women’s game, the Opals are looking to bounce back from the loss of Liz Cambage.

Sally Fitzgibbons is the favourite as surfing makes its debut as an Olympic sport.

Jess Fox is chasing a gold medal in canoe slalom after she took home silver and bronze in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics.