How you can watch the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony in Australia

The long-awaited Tokyo Olympics have finally arrived, with the Australian team to make history at the opening ceremony.

The long-awaited 2021 Tokyo Olympics have finally arrived, with the official Opening Ceremony due to kick off in a matter of hours.

The games, which were delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will commence on Friday and run until August 8.

Athlete and viewer excitement is undoubtedly at an all-time high for what is likely to be one of the most peculiar Olympics in history.

What time does the Olympic opening ceremony start?

The Olympic Opening Ceremony will start at 8pm local Japan time, which conveniently is pretty close to both standard eastern and Western Australian time.

For those in AEST time zones, the ceremony will begin at 9pm, while those in the west can watch it from 7pm.

The ceremony is expected to go for four hours.

Swimmer Cate Campbell and basketballer Patty Mills will fly the Aussie flag at the Opening Ceremony. Picture: Alex Coppel

How to watch the Olympics opening ceremony in Australia?

Because Channel 7 holds the exclusive broadcasting rights to the Tokyo Olympics, viewers need to make sure their devices are set accordingly for the Opening Ceremony.

The full coverage is going to be spread across the network’s channels including its main channel, 7TWO and 7mate.

Those wanting to catch up on games they missed throughout the day will be able to do so on 7plus, where a dedicated Olympic channel will be live streamed 24/7 throughout the games.

The streaming service is free to use, it just requires users to sign up with an email address and some personal information.

There will be more than 40 channels available on 7plus streaming sports for the duration of the games.

Coverage will begin each weekday from 5.30am (AEST) and from 6am on weekends, and continue until after midnight.

The Opening Ceremony is just hours from getting under way. Picture: Tiziana FABI/AFP

Australian Opening Ceremony flag bearers

Patty Mills and Cate Campbell will make history as Australia’s flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Campbell, 29, will be the first female swimmer to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, while NBA star Mills becomes the first Indigenous Australian flag bearer.

All nations competing will create a historic first at the Olympics, as it will be the first time every country at both the opening and closing ceremonies will have a male and female flag bearer.

It will be the second time a male and female will lead the Australian contingent of 474 athletes at the opening ceremony since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, when Denise Robertson-Boyd and Max Metzker led the way.

Olympic Opening Ceremony entertainment

With no crowd allowed inside the stadium, nor at any sporting events, the atmosphere at the Opening Ceremony will without a doubt be different to previous years.

While there has yet to be a list of performances released by Olympic officials, some details have been revealed about what can be expected throughout the event.

Kicking off the parade of nations will be the Greek Olympic team, as is tradition, then every other country in alphabetical order according to the Japanese language.

The Japanese Olympic team, as they are the host nation, will close out the parade.

Traditionally, the ceremonies begin with the entry of the host country’s head of state, this year, it is Japanese Emperor Naruhito, then the athletes will parade before a symbolic release of doves.

The Games then are usually officially opened by the head of state, with various oaths taking place afterwards, followed by some kind of artistic program.

Olympic officials have remained tight lipped on what exactly can be expected from the event.

When is the closing ceremony?

Viewers can tune in to the official closing ceremony on the evening of August 8, from 9pm AEST or 7pm AWST.