Photos: Spectacle endures at Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony

Spectators take pictures of the fireworks lighting up the sky over the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23, 2021.

With the Japanese capital under a state of emergency because of Covid, fewer than a thousand foreign dignitaries and diplomats, Olympic sponsors and members of the International Olympic Committee were present as the Games officially began.

Viewers were treated to a spectacle that featured hundreds of performers taking part in a tightly choreographed and well-rehearsed display of national pride.

A drone display flies over the top of the stadium.

Flag-bearers Sue Bird and Eddy Alvares of Team USA.

Team China enters the stadium.

A member of Team Egypt waves a flag.

Flag-bearers Malia Paseka and Pita Taufatofua of Team Tonga.

Naomi Osaka of Japan carries the Olympic torch during the opening ceremony.

Fireworks light up the sky over the Olympic Stadium.

Flag-bearers Hannah Mills and Mohamed Sbihi of Team Great Britain.

Members of Team Netherlands pose for a picture.

Fireworks around the Olympic Stadium.

Flag-bearers Yui Susaki and Rui Hachimura of Team Japan.

Performers dance around a large Olympic Rings logo made from the wood of trees that grew from seeds brought to the Japanese capital by athletes when it last hosted the Summer Games in 1964.

First lady Jill Biden observes a moment of silence for those who died during the pandemic.

Dancers perform.

Performers during the opening ceremony.

Naomi Osaka of Japan holds the Olympic torch after lighting the Olympic cauldron.

Dancers perform.

A police officer in the empty stands ahead of the ceremony.

A protest against the hosting of the Games in Tokyo on July 23. Many Japanese oppose holding the Games in the country amid the pandemic.

Torchbearers transfer the Olympic flame during the arrival ceremony.

Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony kicks off Games like no other