Bruce Arthur: What could have been a great Olympics has become something where nobody seems to know what to do except blunder forward

TOKYO-Before the show the stadium was almost silent: there were no spectators, aside from media and dignitaries, for the strange and empty pantomime about to begin. During the moment of silence for the victims of COVID-19 it was so still you could hear a distant cacophony: Japanese protestors lined a street outside, hundreds at least, held back by security and fences. An older volunteer could make out the chant, Stop The Olympics. He said, They are exhausted. Very angry. This is very rare here."