Tokyo 2020: How long do the Olympics last?

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are well and truly underway, after a year of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite limited spectator numbers and regular Covid testing, Great Britain have nevertheless made their mark on the Games.

“Magic Monday” saw Adam Peaty become the first Brit to defend a title in the pool after winning gold in the 100m breaststroke, Tom Pidcock claimed Great Britain’s first Olympic mountain biking medal of any colour when he won the men’s cross-country mountain biking, and Tom Daley won his first gold with Matty Lee in the the men’s synchronised 10m platform.

Adam Peaty with his gold medal 100m breaststroke on “Magic Monday”Getty Images

At the end of week one on Friday, Great Britain also picked up six medals including their first Cycling BMX racing medals with Bethany Shriever winning gold in the women’s race and Ben Whyte taking silver in the men’s race.

With more events and medals to come, here is a breakdown of how long the Olympics last and the events in store.

How long does the Olympics last?

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are on from Friday July 23 - Sunday 8 August.

So, the event lasts for 17 days in total.

The start of the Games is marked by the open ceremony which took place at Tokyo’s National Stadium on 23 July at 12.00pm UK time.

After 17 days of events, the closing ceremony will take place on August 8 at Tokyo’s National Stadium at 12.00pm UK time and is expected to last around three hours.

During this ceremony, the Olympic flame will be extinguished to mark the end of the Games.

To mark the handover from one host city to another, Tokyo will also pass the Olympic flag on to the hosts of the 2024 Games, Paris.

On the final day, there will 13 medal events including four in boxing and three in track cycling.

How many events are there?

Altogether, there are 33 sport sand 46 disciplines in the official 2021 Olympic program.

Across these events, there are 339 medals up for grabs.

For these Games, five new Olympic sports have been introduced to the programme, including: baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sports climbing and surfing.

While four of them make their debut this year, baseball and softball has previously been included in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.