Tokyo Olympics 2020: Nintendo Reportedly Had Massive Plans for the Opening Ceremony Which Included Lady Gaga in a Mario Hat

About a week ago on July 23, 2021, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics finally began after a wait of almost a year because of the pandemic. The multi-sport event kicked things off with a mesmerizing Opening Ceremony that grabbed the entire world’s attention. The country of Japan which is known for its affiliations to gaming included many theme songs from iconic titles like Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog and even Final Fantasy. However, gaming fans noticed one major omission in popular gaming developer, Nintendo.

Nintendo had a major involvement in the country’s preparations for the 2020 Olympics. At the Closing Ceremony of the Rio Olympics 2016, Japanese Prime Minister arrived by emerging out of a warp pipe from the world of Mario. No one saw any involvement from the company for this year’s first major ceremony. But new documents and scripts for the Opening Ceremony revealed some grand plans involving Nintendo and pop star Lady Gaga.

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Nintendo had major plans for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony

Recently, the Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun revealed some of the scripts and documents for the Opening Ceremony. The documents showcased the heavy involvement from Nintendo in the show. In a document dated June 16, 2021, Nintendo had plans to add five songs from its world. This included themes of Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and many more.

Earlier documents of the show included an introduction sequence featuring performances inspired by the “8-bit world of video games”. Nintendo’s iconic video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto would have worked on it alongside Mikiko Mizuno. However, the tournament’s delay caused a shuffle in the team with Hiroki Sasaki replacing Miyamoto. Following the exit of Sasaki and Mizuno, the issues behind the scenes caused a lot of revisions in the script, which ultimately lead to the removal of the sequence.

Opening Ceremony would have had Lady Gaga coming out of a warp pipe

In a document dated October 2020, fans could see the plans involving the warp pipe after its appearance in the Closing Ceremony of Rio Olympics 2016. This time, however, instead of the Japanese Prime Minister, fans would have seen global pop star Lady Gaga come out of it wearing a Mario Hat. She would have then used it again to leave the stage, with Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe taking her place.

It’s a shame that fans couldn’t witness such epic sequences from one of the biggest video game developers in Japan. Following the criticism from Japanese people to hold the Games, it’s understandable why Nintendo opted out of it. But seeing Lady Gaga in a Mario Hat would have definitely been a sight to behold.

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