Olympics-Tradition, fireworks and a moment of silence as Tokyo Games start

Women wearing traditional summer Yukata kimonos and wigs jump in front of the National Stadium, the main stadium of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) -The Tokyo Olympics like no other opened on Friday with fireworks illuminating an empty stadium and a moment of silence to honour those lost to COVID-19, with a nod to Japanese tradition represented by wooden Olympic rings linked to the 1964 Games.

Postponed for a year, organisers were forced to take the unprecedented step of holding the Games without fans as the novel coronavirus is on the rise again, taking lives around the world.