Kentaro Kobayashi was accused of using a Holocaust joke in his play
The organizing committee of Tokyo Olympics fired the director of the opening ceremony because of one joke about the Holocaust which he did during a comedy show in 1998. The chairman of the organizing committee Seiko Hashimoto stated, on the eve of the opening ceremony, that the director Kentaro Kobayashi he was fired. He was accused of using a Holocaust joke in his play, including the line ‘Let’s play the Holocaust’.
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“We found that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, used a phrase to ridicule a historical tragedy,” said Hashimoto. “We deeply apologize for causing such a problem the day before the opening ceremony and for causing problems and concerns to many parties involved, as well as to people in Tokyo and the rest of the country.” The opening ceremony of the Games delayed by the pandemic is scheduled for tomorrow evening. The ceremony will be held without spectators as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections, although some officials, guests and the media will attend.
BACH: “OPENING CEREMONY A MOMENT OF JOY AND RELIEF”
“How will I feel entering the stadium for the opening ceremony? I’m not a prophet. We’ll see. I think the Olympics opening ceremony will be a time of joy and relief.” The president of the IOC said so, Thomas Bach, ahead of the opening of Tokyo 2020 scheduled for Friday. Bach spoke of “a feeling of relief because the road to this ceremony was not the easiest. The Olympic movement is at the center of society – he added – and we don’t live in a quiet world, we live in a very fragile world– we must react to this and find the right path for the Olympic movement. “
Bach, speaking on the sidelines of a conference for Brisbane 2032, spoke of “joy in particular for athletes, because I know how much they want this moment and can finally enjoy it in very special circumstances. And a feeling of relief because the road to this ceremony of opening was not the easiest. There is a saying that says: ‘if you feel this kind of relief, there are stones falling from your heart, so if you feel some stones falling then maybe they come from my heart’. On the balance of his first mandates and in view of the next decade of the Olympic movement, Bach clarified: “I thought that starting from Tokyo we would have a quiet period. I keep my fingers crossed for the rest of my mandate, and even more so for my successor. The Olympic movement is at the center of society and we do not live in a quiet world, we live in a very fragile world, and therefore we must react to this and find the right path for the Olympic movement. ” “But we will see – concluded the number one in world sport – once the health crisis is over, there will be political, economic and social consequences. In the last two years there has been a movement within the IOC to create stability and we have tried to make our procedures more flexible to create stability in this turbulent and fragile world “.
THE CEREMONY CELEBRATES THE RETURN TO LIFE
Sober, simple and with moments inspired by the drama of the pandemic: the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony, staged at the Olympic Stadium, will last 3 and a half hours but the beginning will be dedicated to the Covid experience that humanity, and the world of sport in particular, has been experiencing for a year and a half. According to reports from journalists who attended the dress rehearsal, the show – scheduled for 8pm local time (1pm in Italy) – begins with a single man in the center of the stadium, where only a thousand guests will be admitted. The artist will appear at first folded in on himself, then he will stand up and stretch out to his full height to symbolize the return to life. Scenes of athletes training in their rooms, with rowing machines or treadmills, will be projected on the maxi screens, to remind the world that the sportsmen present at the Games have had to train largely alone, often in their homes, because of lockdown.
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