Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) aerobatics team Blue Impulse soared over central Tokyo on July 21, skywriting Olympic rings with white smoke under the summer sun in a rehearsal for the Tokyo Games’ opening day flight. It is expected that Blue Impulse will fly in the daytime on July 23 to draw five colored-smoke rings in the sky ahead of the opening ceremony to be held that night.
Hundreds of aviation fans around the Japan National Stadium — the opening ceremony venue — marveled at their skill. Footage shared by Instagram user moriken9r on Wednesday shows the rings being drawn in the sky. To prevent crowds forming to see the flight, the ASDF will announce a detailed schedule via Twitter and other means only on the day of the flight. “The sky is blue today so I was able to clearly see the five white contrails, so it was exhilarating,” said Noriko Hoshino, a 44-year-old office worker. The opening ceremony is slated for Friday evening, but the softball and soccer competitions are already underway.
