After being delayed due to the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will finally begin, on July 24. I’m really looking forward to seeing my favorite events, gymnastics and swimming. (It is always a treat to see Simone Biles in action! What an amazing athlete.)

But I even like some of the other, lesser-known events, like fencing and table tennis. Those are a lot of fun to watch, and how often do you get to see those types of events?

Do you plan on watching the Toyko Olympics? What are your favorite events to watch? Tell us by leaving a comment in the section toward the bottom of the page.

Olympian Fun Facts

In honor of the upcoming Games, here are some Olympian fun facts, compiled from wallethub.com, jetex.com, and chiff.com:

  • $26 billion: Estimated cost of hosting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
  • First games to ever use artificial intelligence managed security features, with the ability to correctly verify the faces of 230 million people in one second.
  • Futuristic robots will play important roles in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – from welcoming athletes and interacting with visitors, to providing remote viewing to people who are not physically present at Games-related venues.
  • 339 sporting events will take place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
  • Over 7,000 hours of Olympic programming will be produced.
  • 61% of U.S. adults plan to watch at least part of the games this year.
  • Japan produced 5,000 Olympic medals from 78,985 tons of recycled electronic devices, which included digital cameras, laptops, handheld games and a whopping 6.21 million mobile phones.
  • While Japan is not the first to make Olympic medals from recycled materials, it is the first time that citizens of a host country proactively donated their electronic devices as materials for the medals.
  • The Olympic flame for the torch relay comes all the way from Olympia, Greece, where it is traditionally ignited using a parabolic mirror that reflect the sun’s rays, and then transported to the host city.
  • The very first modern Olympic Games were the Summer Olympics held in 1896. Because Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Athens was considered to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games.
  • London is the only city to host the Summer Games three times — in 1908, 1948 and 2012. The Summer Olympics have been held in the USA four times (1904, 1932, 1984, 1996) – but in three different cities.
  • The United States has won more gold and overall medals than any other country in the Summer Games. Summer Olympian Michael Phelps is the most-decorated Olympic athlete of any nation, with 22 Olympic medals (including 18 golds).
  • Olympic gold medals aren’t really made of solid gold, but silver with gold plating. Olympic gold medals haven’t been pure gold for about a century.
  • The modern games were only canceled three times, and it was always the Summer Olympics. The 1916 Summer Olympics in Berlin were canceled because of World War I. The 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, as well as the 1944 Summer Olympics in London, were canceled because of World War II.
  • The future host cities for Summer Olympics are Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028).

Record Your Olympic Snacks!

If you’re like me, you’ll be snacking on chips, dips, and other goodies while watching the Games. So please remember to record these and any other items you buy for watching the Games.

Go USA!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Best wishes,
Taylor

Also see: