Olympics have lockdown aura. But the narrative isn’t locked in.

After a four-month relay across Japan, the Olympic torch is finally burning in Tokyo. But it hasn’t arrived as planned. 

Efforts to ​combat the coronavirus pandemic have detoured the relay off public roads and replaced it with a series of discreet flame-lighting rituals. ​Nearly half of ​some​ 4​7 ​relay​ legs across the country​ were disrupted.​ 

For this symbol of endurance, and the Games it heralds, the journey resembles the destination. 

More than a year after its postponement, the delayed 2020 Olympics beg​an Friday with a closed-door spectacle​. Tokyo ​is​ again in a state of emergency​, and spectators​ have been banned.

All this highlights the central paradox of the Tokyo Games. The world has spent the last year and a half fighting COVID-19, reinforcing a sense of global unity – and the value of global celebrations. Yet​ public health protocols mean the Tokyo Games will be the most restricted on record. At once, these Games may feel like the most and least international of the modern era.