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Opening Ceremony celebrates Day 0 of 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games

The second-largest Team USA in history will compete at the games with 613 athletes.

TOKYO, Japan — The 2021 Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony closed out the first of the games early on Friday morning.

There are 205 total teams competing for gold this year and Team USA is the second biggest it's ever been with 613 athletes.

.@TeamUSA is making their way to the stadium 👀

🇺🇸 🔜 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/IHd5oIexoZ
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 24, 2021

The ceremony included showcases of Japanese culture, the traditional Parade of Nations and more.

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Organizers expected about 5,700 athletes to walk in the parade aside from those with early competitions on Saturday morning to avoid possible exposure to COVID-19.

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka had the honor of lighting the cauldron for the 2021 games.

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>> Bookmark 12news.com/olympics to stay up-to-date on all things Tokyo Olympics

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