tonight at 10, the olympic games finally open in tokyo with a low key—ceremony, and a tribute to those who've died in the pandemic. the olympic flame is lit at last, after months of uncertainty about whether the games would even take place. a burst of colour in an almost empty stadium. this will be the first games in history with no spectators. the olympics boss said today was a moment of hope. let us cherish these moments, finally we are all here together. one of the biggest team gbs ever sent to the olympics, with hopes of bringing home up to 70 medals. we're live in tokyo as two weeks of sporting action get underway. also tonight... the pingdemic —

caused by the pandemic. as hundreds of thouands are told to self—isolate, medical leaders insist the app is essential. but there's confusion and delays over government plans to exempt some key workers, like those in food depots, from self—isolation. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... a record—equalling round for south korea'sjeongeun lee. she storms the evian leaderboard with one of the lowest scores ever at a major. good evening. the tokyo olympic games have officially opened injapan, a year late and beset by unprecedented challenges because of the covid pandemic. the opening ceremony took place in an almost empty stadium in tokyo, a city that has been placed under its fourth state of emergency as it struggles with its highest

covid numbers in six months. more than 11,000 athletes will be competing over the next two weeks. the president of the international olympic committee, thomas bach, said that today was a moment of hope as he paid tribute to the japanese for hosting the games, despite the huge challenges, and to the athletes who've had to train through months of uncertainty. from tokyo, our sports editor, dan roan, reports. some thought it might never happen. many here wished it wouldn't. but finally tokyo's moment to shine had arrived. the hosts were determined to put on a show. but this would be far from the celebration imagined when they won the right to host these games. this, the olympics�* first opening ceremony in a state of emergency. in a scaled down and at times sombre performance to reflect the covid age, the focus immediately turned to the athletes, those who had

strived so long for this moment amid the uncertainty and solitude of the pandemic — all connected by a common dream. the president of the international olympic committee, thomas bach. the decision to press on had strained the relationship between the ioc and their hosts, but now an apparent show of unity, the emperor ofjapan among an audience restricted to less than 1000 vips — the public barred from their own party. at times it was easy to forget the empty stands, wooden rings made from trees grown from seeds planted in the city when the games first came to tokyo 57 years ago were brought together in an evocative moment. the struggles of the pandemic again reflected — health care workers alongside athletes carrying the national flag towards a depiction of mount fuji. a moment of remembrance for those that had been lost. the time had come for the competitors — greece the first to appear.

as for the athletes themselves, well, the tonight was not meant to be this way. many staying away from the traditional parade of the teams to avoid the risk of infection. but organisers will now be desperately hoping that their spirit, their defiance and their achievements over the coming days can help these games to emerge from the shadow of covid and help them to be a success against all the odds. just 22 of team gb's 375 strong squad had joined the much—reduced parade. led by sailor hannah mills and rower mohamed sbihi, with nations allowed to choose both male and female flag—bearers. united states of america... a much larger contingent by the usa, greeted by the first lady, jill biden. before the last of more than 200 teams, the hosts themselves, completed proceedings. this, a moment of national pride after such a troubled build—up. then, in a stunning moment, almost 2000 drones lighting up the sky above the stadium,

and somehow morphing into a globe. how it was done, hard to imagine. # imagine all the people... each of the singers representing different continents. another show of unity and peace before the traditional speeches. translation: following| the challenges of the first ever postponement in olympic history, the tokyo 2020 games finally open here today. hopes have been connected, one by one, by many hands, and we are now in a position to welcome this day. you will treasure these moments forever. today is a moment of hope. yes, it is very different from what all of us had imagined, but let us cherish this moment. finally we are all here together. in a ceremony that lasted almost four hours, the olympic flag

arrived and was raised. the traditional anthem of the games, the backdrop, before the pictograms that represent each sport were given a unique and mesmerising twist. after a torch relay that has already spent much of its journey away from the public, the flame arrived. the final torchbearer — japanese tennis star naomi osaka, given the honour of climbing the steps of the symbolic mount fuji stage to light the cauldron. fuelled by hydrogen for the first time, in a bid to hold a more environmentally friendly olympics. if this didn't help get the hosts behind the event, nothing would. at long last, and despite such controversy, the games have begun. dan roan, bbc news, tokyo. public opinion injapan has been firmly against the olympics going ahead because of covid. under 25% of the population are fully vaccinated and cases are rising sharply, with more than 3000 a day now. many japanese are fearful

of the impact that so many athletes and officials at the games will have. our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports from tokyo. for the oono family it has been a long, anxious wait to get to this moment. they are serious olympic fans. dad has spent over £3000 on olympic tickets, so you can imagine the mixed emotions they are feeling tonight. yes, we think about the kids, it's the very first time to hold their olympics injapan, so we were excited. i am very disappointed, masato uno says. if they were not going to have spectators, they should have postponed again until next year, then we could have welcomed people from abroad properly. chanting. those who think the whole show should have been scrapped long ago were out on the streets again this evening.

cheering. but they were vastly outnumbered by the crowds that have turned out to try and get a glimpse of the action. this was shinjuku park at lunchtime, as japan's air force display team painted the olympic rings across the sky. the olympics is very... a once—in—a—lifetime kind of event, right? so ijust wanted to have my kids have experience to see those athletes at least. but due to this covid—19 i guess things have got to be the way it is. for months we have heard that japan doesn't want the games, that people are afraid. it didn't look like it tonight. the contrast between what is going on inside the olympic stadium tonight and what is going on outside in tokyo could not be more stark. because of covid, because of the state of emergency, the stadium seats are empty and yet here we are right outside, tens of thousands of people gathered

in public squares and public parks to try and glimpse a bit of the action. if you go in the streets around here, the restaurants are all full, life is going on as normal. there is some pretty strange logic going on here. translation: | am sure _ the government is taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus by separating the athletes from the public, so i'm not worried. for some, these scenes show the ban on olympic spectators is unnecessary, but with covid cases in tokyo climbing rapidly, others will say this demonstrates exactly why the spectator ban is needed. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. let's talk to our sports editor, dan roan. he is in tokyo. early saturday morning for you. the games get going now and there must be a huge sense of relief that after all the uncertainty it can start? absolutely and undoubtedly _ uncertainty it can start? absolutely and undoubtedly the _ uncertainty it can start? absolutely and undoubtedly the organisers - uncertainty it can start? absolutely| and undoubtedly the organisers will be hoping the focus finally shifts

from the controversy to the sport, the action getting under way in earnest for the first time today with a first medal events, plenty of british prospects. geraint thomas in the men's road race cycling which gets under way in the next few hours, the likes of helen glover in rowing, adam peaty in swimming, so andy murray, max whitlock also getting their campaigns under way for the first time in the next few hours —— sir andy murray put it so much intrigue surrounding the next two and a half weeks, how will team to be fair after coming second in rio? how will new sports making their debuts get on, the likes of skateboarding and surfing and climbing customers who will emerge to replace the likes of michael phelps and usain bolt who have retired since rio? there is no getting away from the fact that this is happening in a state of emergency amid rising cases, the acrimony and controversy was reflected last night in an opening ceremony that was at

times undoubtedly sad. when you saw the banks of empty seats, you heard the banks of empty seats, you heard the protests outside, it rather —— the protests outside, it rather —— the depleted parade of nations, there is no escaping that fact and i think organisers will be anxious that there was not any more athletes ruled out by testing positive, none of the big finals or names are affected or that it contributes to cases arising in the community. but despite all of that, as far as the organisers are concerned, don't be surprised if still the athletes can come to the rescue in the next two and a half weeks.— there's confusion and growing criticism over the government's plans to allow some key workers in england, from transport workers and police to those controlling the power network, to take daily covid tests instead of self—isolating. business leaders says the scheme needs to be significantly expanded within days to tackle staff shortages. but there's still uncertainty about how that mass testing

will be carried out. our economics correspondent dharshini david reports. from the outside, not much to tempt the taste buds, but supermarket depots keep us all fed. they're taking on a new order, acting as testing centres to allow staff at risk of infection to keep working. it comes as over a million people across the country isolate, meaning some gaps on shop shelves and even closures. it's great that depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from government rules, but it is borderline pointless if you're not going to make all of the chain exempt. we need food store workers to be omitted from the list immediately. and tonight, it's emerged that those first testing sites won't be ready until monday, despite earlier government assurances, raising questions about plans for expansion. supermarkets see this as a step

forward, but not the solution. the 10,000 workers involved in manufacturing and distribution who could be exempt are just a fraction of the 4 million involved in bringing ourfood from farm to plate. the government argues that you relax restrictions too much, you could see infection rates soaring, but some businesses are concerned they could be overlooked. this wholesaler in burnley is already pulling out all the stops to supply care homes and schools. they don't know if or how the scheme can help them. something is happening, but is it going to be apparent for us? we're not sure. and if it does become apparent, we have to e—mail defra with every individual case. how long is that going to take? is that a 24—hour turnaround? is it a two—day turnaround? we've already lost a couple of days for that person getting the pcr test. so, we just don't know. over at the ports, they're getting to grips with an alternative scheme designed for a few other critical industries, similar to one unveiled in scotland today,

where they have to apply for exemption for selected named vaccinated staff. we have to go through this highly | bureaucratic process of supplying| lists of individual names as well as functions, - whereas the supermarket supply sectorjust seemsl to have a blanket exemption. for us, it seems unfair that there's one rule for one sector— and another rule for another. railway signalling staff will be exempt, but drivers may not be, so there could be more train cancellations to come. increasingly, businesses are asking why the date for scrapping isolation rules, just three weeks away, can't be brought forward? once again, this pandemic means balancing public health with our social and economic well—being, and everything has a cost. dharshini david, bbc news. there's been a fall in the number of new covid cases in the uk for the third day in a row. the latest government figures show

36,389 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average of 44,219 new cases per day in the last week. just over 5,000 people are now in hospital with coronavirus — figures not seen since the end of march. and 64 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours. nearly 46.5 million people have now had theirfirstjab — that's 88.2% of the adult population. and more than 36.7 million people are now fully vaccinated — almost 70% of all uk adults. the british medical association has criticised changes to the self—isolation rules and warned that exempting healthcare staff is potentially unsafe. the head of the newly—formed uk health security agency, jenny harries, said the nhs covid app was essential and it was inevitable that a large number of people would be asked to isolate, given the steep rise in cases. here's our health editor, hugh pym.

covid case surges in some communities are now putting increasing strain on local hospitals. in liverpool, patient numbers have increased sharply. some non—urgent operations are being cancelled to free up beds, with staff moved to support colleagues in critical care. this wave is different. the people we're seeing are younger, and that's really very distressing for our staff. i think sometimes, people think because they're young, that covid can't affect them, it can't damage them. that's absolutely not the case. it can affect everybody. health leaders argue that with the risk of a further spread of infections, self—isolation is essential when required, and they've defended the nhs covid app. the pinging, the pingdemic, is because we have a pandemic. we know that you're five times more likely to become a case yourself if you've been a close contact, and this is the way that we can stop transmission occurring through the country. so, this is not an inconvenience — it is actually an essential intervention for all of us.

the office for national statistics' infection survey suggests there were just over 830,000 people in the uk who had the virus last week — up 27.5%, though a slower rate of increase than in the previous two weeks. in england, it was one in 75 with the virus. in wales, one in 210. and northern ireland, one in 170 people. in all three of which, there were increases. but in scotland, with one in 80, the trend was said to be "uncertain". if ijust take your temperature... luke had opted not to have the vaccine. he tested positive for covid and needed hospital treatment. he thinks he caught the virus when watching euros football in the pub with friends. a lot of people in there had to self—isolate, but i'm the only one that i know of that's got it, and got it quite bad. so i'm the unlucky, one of the unlucky few, but you've got to sort of re—evaluate, you know, your options and, you know, get the jab.

health officials confirm the gathering of fans for the euros in england could well have fuelled higher case rates, with more men than women testing positive and behaviour away from the matches being a key factor. for example, long—distance travelling in a coach, or the socialising, you know, drinks and close social contact around the event. but, yes, we have seen a little bit of a spike in cases, which would fit with the timeframe from some of those events. as to what happens next, a lot will depend on how much people mix with others, following the lifting of legal restrictions in england. and our health editor, hugh pym, is here. three days in a row, recorded cases have fallen, assign positive things to come? in have fallen, assign positive things to come? , ., , to come? in these daily reported cases the trend _ to come? in these daily reported cases the trend does _ to come? in these daily reported cases the trend does look - to come? in these daily reported cases the trend does look a - to come? in these daily reported cases the trend does look a little bit more encouraging.

below 37,000 compared with below 51,000 on the same day last week. the trend taking the latest seven days compared to the previous seven days compared to the previous seven days shows an increase of more than 11% and that was echoed by the office for national statistics survey for community infections. but the rate of increase is slower. what officials will be looking at is what will happen in the next few weeks. the opening up we have seen in various degrees in england, scotland and wales, will result with most certainly more infections and that will take a week or so to feed through. what happens in those weeks will be extremely important. a couple of interesting reminders today about the threat that still remains. public health england has looked at the chance of getting reinfected, getting covid for a second time. it is a very low risk, but a higher possibility of that happening with the delta variant first identified in india, compared

to the delta variant first identified in kent. in the north—east of england it is increasing support for local authorities, including search testing, because of an increase there than in the north west of england where we first saw the delta variant accelerating. that assistance is being scaled back. that assistance is being scaled back. let's take a look at some of today's other news. quarantine—free travel between australia and new zealand will be paused for at least eight weeks from today. the new zealand prime minister called off the arrangement as the number of australian infections continues to rise. half of australia's population is now living in lockdown with under 12% fully vaccinated. more than a hundred people have died in the western indian state of maharashtra in landslides and flooding triggered by torrential monsoon rains. local officials said they were forced to release water from dams due to days of excessive rains, which had caused rivers to flood. hundreds of villages and towns are without electricity

and drinking water. a high courtjudge has ruled there should be a new investigation into whether the security services could have prevented the omagh bombing in 1998. twenty—nine people were killed in the attack, including nine children and three generations of the same family. in 2013, the government said it would not hold a public inquiry. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. on a busy summer's day, the bomb which exploded in the centre of omagh was the single worst atrocity of the northern ireland troubles. no—one was ever convicted. today, relatives of victims welcomed the ruling of a high courtjudge, who said there was a very real prospect that it could have been prevented by the security services, and called for new investigations on both sides of the irish border. nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. but now, we've an independent person who's said it, and i think that's hugely relieving. i didn't sleep much last

night, but i will sleep much better tonight. families of victims have long called for a public inquiry, which was originally rejected by the government in 2013. michael gallagher's son, aidan, was one of the 29 who lost their lives that day. how does it feel to hear those words, that this could have been prevented? well, that is... that is very difficult. you really don't want to think too much about that. the judge said any investigation in future must look at whether intelligence held at the time by m15 and police in ireland could have been used to disrupt the activities of prominent dissident republicans leading up to the attack. what happened at this spot changed so many people's lives forever, so the judge's words will have huge importance here today, and particularly that idea that bringing together intelligence from both british and irish state agencies could provide new answers. to think that they didn't have to die in the way they did, i

ithe fact that this could have beenl prevented, there needs to be some sort of further investigations into why this happened. - the ruling cannot compel the irish authorities to take any action, but the judge said he hoped they would investigate. the british government has said it will consider the recommendations, as the case provides fresh hope for those who have long campaigned to shed new light on the horrors of one of northern ireland's darkest days. emma vardy, bbc news, omagh. the england wingerjadon sancho has joined mancheter united in a £73 million move from borussia dortmund. the 21—year—old said it was a dream come true. he has become the second most expensive english player of all time behind his new united team—mate harry maguire. and finally she is the youngest member of team gb�*s athletics team in tokyo. at the age ofjust 19

keeley hodgkinson has burst on to 5the scene, an 800—metre runner who has produced some extraordinary performances in the last few months. at the start of this year she wasn't even lottery funded. now she has high hopes of bringing home a medal, as jo currie reports. for most teenage athletes, running in a senior international race means gaining experience. for 19—year—old keely hodgkinson, it means medals. keely hodgkinson- needs to stay strong. can she win the gold? she's going to get it! this is her winning the indoor european 800m title earlier this year, and she's now heading to the tokyo olympics as the youngest member of the great britain athletics squad, after also winning the british trials, where she beat compatriot laura muir. just a sense of relief, really, because i really wanted to get that automatic qualification. because only top two is guaranteed and, like, as a lot of people know, that line—up was ridiculous. the women's 800 is really, like, the depth in it is crazy. so, to take the win in that field of people. but also, in manchester, my family were there, they haven't seen me run in a while,

it was a really special moment. keeley is already setting records, winning titles and making history. she's following in the footsteps of another middle—distance great, who's her mentor and who also trained here at the track in wigan. here comes jenny meadows, will she get there? - she does! she is amazing. she never fails to surprise me. she is improving week to week at the moment, and that's what's so exciting about her. we see it day in and day out, you know, all the hard miles that she does here in wigan. and, yeah, she's showing the world what she's got now. it's incredible. keeley�*s rapid rise includes setting a junior world record injanuary, and now she's being tipped to break dame kelly holmes's national record, which has stood since 1995. she'sjust flawless, really. we don't really give her too much ltactical advice because she's got| such a great racing brain, i so we'lljust discuss possible scenarios that might occur, - and she'll then have a good idea of what she wants to do and which will be | the best outcome for her.

i but for a young girl like that, i it is about keeping the pressure away from them because she's getting a lot of attention now, _ so we just try to keep her feet - on the floor and keep working hard, and let's hope we can go as far as we can with the sport. - in tokyo, keeley will be up against the world's best middle—distance runners. it'll be the most experienced field she's ever faced. she knows the competition for medals will be fierce. well, one of the first tasks is to get through the rounds. the beauty of championship racing is that anything can happen so, erm, i'll be reaching high and just see what happens with it. you don't seem very nervous. no! no, i think i've found, like, even though i'm young, like, just being relaxed is the way that i run best. so, i just try and take that approach, even if it's a british champs or an olympic final. keeley hodgkinson ending that report with jo currie. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

good evening. storm clouds have been gathering to the south of the uk, setting us up for quite a big change to the weather this weekend. it is going to be cooler and, for some, especially across southern areas, we will see some really intense thundery downpours. these pulses of heavy, thundery rain pushing up across southern england, parts of south wales through the night. at the same time, mist and murk and low cloud once again roll in across eastern and central parts of scotland and down the eastern side of england. another pretty warm night, 17 the overnight low in liverpool. and then into tomorrow, expect pulses of heavy, thundery rain at times across southern england, wales, the midlands, east anglia. some brighter gaps in between, but the showers could be intense enough to cause some localised disruption. we will see some of this mist and murk again for north sea coasts. north west england, much of scotland, particularly out west, and northern ireland seeing sunny spells and still some relative warmth with highs of 26 degrees. stays dry to the north west on sunday, but with more thunderstorms in the south east.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the delayed 2020 tokyo olympics have got under way with a modest opening ceremony, reflecting the impact of the pandemic. reflecting the impact the stadium was almost empty and the show included a moment of silence to honour covid victims. tennis star naomi osaka lit the olympic cauldron — marking the official start of the 32nd olympiad. the message from the man in charge of the international olympic committee, was that this is a day of hope. more than a hundred people have died in western india, after monsoon rains triggered landslides and flooding. many low—lying areas in india's maha—rashtra state have been completely submerged. there's confusion and growing criticism over the uk government's plans to allow some key workers in england to take daily covid tests instead of self—isolating.