FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, July 24th, 2021

TOKYO OLYMPICS PRIMETIME OPENING CEREMONY NOTES & QUOTES ON NBC

“When you look at the floor of the Olympic Stadium, you realize there’s that moment – the world back together again.” – Mike Tirico

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. There’s nothing like an Opening Ceremony to really get you excited for the Olympic Games.” – Savannah Guthrie

“The energy is insane, I know our country is in a tough moment right now, but right now we all feel unified and it’s incredible.” – Sue Bird mic’d up leading Team USA into Olympic Stadium as a flag bearer

“It’s an honor to be a part of this team and the Olympic legacy.” – Maria Taylor, making her NBC Sports debut

Saturday’s Coverage Includes U.S. Women’s Soccer and Opening Day of Swimming, Beach Volleyball and Skateboarding Competitions

Most Up-to-Date Olympic TV Listings on NBCOlympics.com

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 24, 2021 – Saturday’s coverage of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad from Tokyo, Japan, is highlighted by:

    • The opening day of swimming competition featuring a number of U.S. medal contenders in preliminary action, including Rio Olympics silver medalist Chase Kalisz in the men’s 400m individual medley;
    • Beach volleyball competition gets underway with the U.S. team of April Ross and Alix Klineman playing Xue Chen and Wang Xinxin of China live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
    • In a sport making its Olympic debut, the men’s skateboarding street final will be presented live at Midnight ET (following late local news)/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC. American Nyjah Huston is expected to contend for gold;
    • The U.S. Women’s soccer team takes on New Zealand live on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN in a Group G matchup, following their opening match 3-0 defeat against Sweden on Wednesday;
    • Men’s gymnastics qualifying begins live on Peacock at 6 a.m. ET.

 

For the latest comprehensive Olympic TV schedule information, please visit: https://www.nbcolympics.com/schedule.

All Tokyo Olympics coverage will be streamed live on https://www.nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

***

Following are highlights from NBC’s primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, July 23.

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad began with the Opening Ceremony from Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Mike Tirico, NBC’s primetime Olympics host, and award-winning journalist and co-anchor of TODAY Savannah Guthrie hosted the show.

NBC Olympics’ track & field reporter Lewis Johnson and swimming reporter Michele Tafoya served as reporters for the Opening Ceremony.

The primetime Opening Ceremony show featured interviews with members of Team USA, including Megan Rapinoe and Team USA flag bearers Sue Bird and Eddy Alvarez, who were mic’d up as they led Team USA into Olympic Stadium.

Dwayne Johnson introduced Team USA during the Parade of Nations – click here to watch the introduction.

***

Tirico: “When you look at the floor of the Olympic Stadium, you realize there’s that moment – the world back together again.”

Rapinoe to Tirico on her fiancé Sue Bird’s reaction to being named a Team USA flag bearer: “She was, in typical Sue fashion, very low-key about it…Unlike me, she doesn’t like a lot of the attention, but I think you can tell in that moment just how much it meant to her. Obviously, she’s a five-time Olympian going for her fifth gold medal. I get to see just how much that means to her and how much she puts into it.”

Bird on how she felt as she led Team USA into Olympic Stadium: “It’s very difficult to explain. The energy is insane, I know our country is in a tough moment right now, but right now we all feel unified and it’s incredible.”

Alvarez on walking in as a flag bearer: “Thank God that I have Sue here holding me up because I’m freaking out a little bit guys, I’m not going to lie.”

Tirico on the passion and excitement of the Olympians in Tokyo: “These are people who want to be here. These are people who sacrificed the last couple of years, especially given the pandemic, and they’ve watched other sports have their moments, figured it out with the bubble and the way to compete. For many of these athletes, this is the peak of their athletic careers and no matter your opinion, you can’t deny that they are loving this moment.”

PRE-CEREMONY

Pre-Opening Ceremony coverage included reporting from NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt, a “By The Numbers” breakdown of Team USA by NBC News and MSNBC’s national political correspondent Steve Kornacki, and the NBC Sports debut of Maria Taylor, who narrated a feature on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team and will serve as a host for Prime Plus coverage and a correspondent.

Tirico: “Finally, the Opening Ceremony is here…You can certainly say this is the most unique and challenging Games since the modern Olympics began 125 years ago, bringing together to world in the middle of global pandemic. But 206 delegations are here and they’re all going to walk out tonight in the name of sport and competition.”

Guthrie: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there’s nothing like an Opening Ceremony to really get you excited for the Olympic Games.”

Taylor: “It’s an honor to be a part of this team and the Olympic legacy.”

***

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic Games. NBC Olympics is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. NBC Olympics also produces thousands of hours of Olympic sports programming throughout the year, which is presented on NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.

— NBC OLYMPICS —