July 23 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Aditi Sangal, John Sinnott, Matias Grez, Melissa Mahtani and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 12:17 AM ET, Sat July 24, 2021

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10:11 p.m. ET, July 22, 2021

Here's how to watch the Olympics opening ceremony today in the US

From CNN's Alyssa Kraus

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony officially kicks off the Games today. The ceremony will take place in the early hours of US Eastern time due to Tokyo's time difference.

What's the time difference? Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so many of the events — including the opening ceremony — will be replayed each day on NBC in the US. However, if you want to watch the events live, many will be held during the early morning in US Eastern Time.

When can I watch the ceremony? The event will take place at 8 p.m. local time in Japan on Friday, which is 7 a.m. ET.

If you miss the live broadcast, the roughly four-hour opening ceremony will also be replayed at 7:30 p.m. ET.

How can I watch the Olympics in the US? NBC, its sister cable networks, its dedicated site NBCOlympics.com and the company’s new streaming platform, Peacock, will broadcast the Olympics.

In linear form, coverage will spill across NBC and eight other Comcast-owned cable channels, including USA, CNBC, NBC Sports Network and Telemundo. The menu will total more than 7,000 hours encompassing 35 sports, with NBC serving as the home for highlights and top events.

Read more about how to watch the Olympics:

Olympics 2021: More coverage than ever, no fans, and a lot of different ways to watch

9:38 p.m. ET, July 22, 2021

If you're in the US, these are the Olympic events you'll want to watch on Friday

From CNN's Alyssa Kraus

The Olympics opening ceremony will take place Friday, signaling the official start of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

Here are some major events you'll want to watch live on Friday, Eastern Time:

Opening ceremony: The event starts at 8 p.m. local time in Japan, which is 7 a.m. ET. If you miss the live broadcast, the roughly four-hour event will also be replayed at 7:30 p.m. ET in the US.
Tennis: The first rounds of men's and women's singles, along with the first rounds of men's and women's doubles will be broadcast live from 10 p.m. ET to 2 a.m. ET on Friday. The matches will be replayed on Saturday between 7 a.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET in the US.
Water polo: The US women's water polo match against Japan will be live at 1 a.m. ET on Friday. The event will be replayed on Saturday in the US, along with events such as 3x3 US women's basketball, rowing, archery and men's cycling, between 10:45 a.m. ET and 2:45 p.m. ET.

In case you missed it, here are some events from earlier this week that will be replayed on Friday:

Softball: Two Team USA softball games will be replayed on Friday, including US vs. Italy and US vs. Canada, from 8 a.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday in the US. The events took place on Wednesday and Thursday respectively in Japan.
Football: The US women's football team's match against Sweden will be replayed on Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET in the US. The match took place on Wednesday in Japan.

View NBC's full schedule for Friday and Saturday here.

9:26 p.m. ET, July 22, 2021

What we know about the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony

From CNN's Ben Morse

The opening ceremony for this year's Summer Games — which were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic — will take place Friday in Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.

Usually held in a stadium full of ecstatic fans, this year's ceremony will have athletes from across the globe parading in a near empty venue after it was announced that spectators would not be allowed to attend because of rising Covid-19 cases in Japan.

"The most difficult part of the process was that the postponement meant a simplification of the ceremonies and the message had to be drastically revised," said Takayuki Hioki, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee executive producer of ceremonies.

"After nearly five years of planning, we found ourselves suddenly having to rethink everything. This was the biggest challenge," said Hioki.

Due to restrictions, only a select number of officials and some dignitaries will be present for the opening ceremony.

Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Hidemasa Nakamura told CNN that about 950 VIPs will take part in the event. The total will include around 800 foreign guests and 150 from Japan, CNN affiliate TV Asahi reported.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito, who will declare the Olympics open, will be attending without any other member of the imperial family, according to the Imperial Household Agency.

With all the struggles and difficulties that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has faced to stage the Games in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, president Thomas Bach believes it will be a moment of "joy and relief."

However as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Tokyo, there will be notable absentees. Japanese automaker Toyota has confirmed its CEO, Akio Toyoda, will not be attending the ceremony.