Canadian commentators have awkwardly mistaken Australian NBA star and Olympic flag bearer Patty Mills for a woman during the Tokyo Games opening ceremony.
The broadcast, which has been shared on social media, shows the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation hosts describing the Australian team as they walk into the city’s Olympic Stadium on Friday night before highlighting the country’s representatives.
‘And you know what, I think they had two women carry the flag. Cate Campbell the swimmer and Patty Mills the basketball player,’ commentator Scott Russell says.
‘That’s how you do it, that’s how you do it,’ his female co-host Adrienne Arsenault replies.
The embarrassing faux-pas comes as Australians watching the opening ceremony from home blasted Channel Seven’s coverage of the event after the broadcaster interrupted the global spectacle with frequent ad breaks.
Canadian commentators have awkwardly mistaken Australian NBA star and Olympic flag bearer Patty Mills for a woman during the Tokyo Games opening ceremony
Mills and Campbell pose for a photo as they lead the Aussie team during the Tokyo Games opening ceremony
Mills’ wife Alyssa has admitted she is now a ‘true blue’ Aussie as she watched her husband become his country’s first ever Indigenous flag bearer
Millions of Aussies tuned in to watch Mills and Campbell led the Australian team into the stadium on Friday night.
Australia was the 38th nation to walk out into the stadium, with a team of 63 athletes donning green and gold.
Mills was a popular choice among Aussie fans to represent the nation despite the Canadian broadcasters having no idea who the San Antonio Spurs point guard is.
His American wife Alyssa has admitted she is now a ‘true blue’ Aussie as she watched her husband become his country’s first ever Indigenous flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Mills led out the Australian team alongside swimmer Cate Campbell on Friday night to a near-empty stadium as Covid-19 forced spectators to watch on from home.
Alyssa Mills donned the green and gold alongside Patty’s parents Yvonne and Benny while speaking to 7News ahead of the ceremony.
When told she looked like a ‘true blue Aussie’, she quickly declared ‘I am!’.
Ms Mills is from North Carolina and played college basketball herself, having met Mills while they were both studying at St. Mary’s College in California.
‘This is a big moment for him and he is very proud of himself but we’re all very proud of him,’ she said.
‘We FaceTimed him not long ago and he’s ready to carry that flag for all of Australia.’
Ms Mills is from North Carolina and played college basketball herself, having met Mills while they were both studying at St. Mary’s College in California
Mills currently plays with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and is a powerhouse for the Australian Boomers
Mills is the first Indigenous athlete to carry the flag while Campbell is the first female swimmer
Australia is seen walking out into the main stadium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday night
Viewers were quick to label the theatrical performances during the three-hour-long spectacle as ‘boring’ and ‘weak’, claiming the event only came to life when a mesmerising drone display lit up the Tokyo night sky.
‘Probably the least impressive opening ceremony ever. Awful lighting, poor camera work, weak theatrics, not enough performers to make it work,’ one viewer wrote on Twitter.
Fans meanwhile lauded the entry of the Tongan athletes into the stadium, with flag bearer and taekwondo star Pita Taufatofua arriving shirtless and seemingly covered in oil.
But many were frustrated with Channel Seven constantly flicking to ads during the ceremony – with some admitting they had turned off the program altogether.
‘Utterly disgusting that I have to endure adverts through the opening ceremony,’ one tweeted.
‘Be nice to watch the ceremony without ads!’ another said.
‘I’m turning off. I’ll stream it online with no ads. Epic fail Channel 7,’ one wrote.
Others though admitted they found the ads a welcome relief from the ‘boring’ opening ceremony.
‘Ads have been more entertaining than what’s being dished up as an opening ceremony sadly,’ another commented.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment.
Many Australians watching on from home have slammed the Channel 7 network for interrupting the broadcasting of the ceremony with ads – with some admitting they turned it off altogether
Some expressed their disappointment with the opening ceremony with one saying it was the ‘least impressive’ they had seen
Some Twitter users admitted they were frustrated with the amount of ads shown during Channel 7’s coverage of the opening ceremony
Viewers blasted the network for interrupting the global spectacle with constant ad breaks
Viewers were also disappointed with the uniforms worn by the Australian athletes as they paraded through Tokyo’s National Stadium.
‘Seriously, Australia comes out in a school uniform?’ one wrote.
‘Australia’s Olympic uniform, while better than some previous iterations is still not good,’ another tweeted.
But a surprise drone show at the conclusion of the ceremony gained back viewer’s attention, with many praising organisers for the ‘mind-blowing’ light display.
More than 1,800 drones flew high above the stadium before joining together in unison to create a globe – lighting up each continent.
In the background ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon was heard being covered by artists such as John Legend and Australia’s own Keith Urban.
‘Best part of an ordinary and long night,’ one viewer wrote.
‘Not me getting emotional when I see Australia depicted by drones,’ tweeted another Aussie.
‘The world made up of drones made me tear up, so beautiful and symbolic,’ one said.
‘Honestly saved this ceremony,’ shared another.
Athletes and volunteers are seen watching the orb of drones during the opening ceremony
More than 1,800 drones flew high above the stadium before joining together in unison to create a globe, lighting up each continent
Many Aussies said the drone display at the end of the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony was the highlight of the night
The orb of drones could be seen far and wide across Tokyo on Friday night to celebrate the start of the Olympic Games
The excitement ramped up a notch with Taufatofua’s entry – who became an instant celebrity as he arrived in the stadium in traditional clothing.
The muscular taekwondo star, who was born in Brisbane, is taking part in his third Olympics.
He went viral when he also appeared shirtless at the Opening Ceremony for the 2016 Rio Games and likewise at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where he represented Tonga in cross-country skiing.
Fans old and new of Taufatofua took to Twitter to express their appreciation.
‘There’s enough oil on the Tonga flag bearer to fry a turkey dinner and I love it. Is this man single? Oh my God,’ wrote one.
‘Tonga’s flag bearer is heating up the internet!’ said another.
‘Tonga’s flag bearer wins the evening for me,’ added another Twitter user.
Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua has once again caused a sensation after leading out his nation’s athletes at the Olympic Opening Ceremony while shirtless and smothered in baby oil
The 37-year-old taekwondo fighter went viral as he emerged as Tonga’s flag bearer
It is the third Olympic Games in which Taufatofua has appeared shirtless at the ceremony
Taufatofua has become an instant celebrity from his entertaining entrance into the Olympic Stadium
Mills was meanwhile on Friday night the first Indigenous athlete to carry the flag for Australia while Campbell was the first female swimmer.
The rest of the Aussie athletes watched on with pride from the Olympic village with many excitedly waving the national flag.
As the two carried the flag together, a string of other athletes marched behind them waving to friends and family watching from home.
Athletes including world champion surfer Steph Gilmore and canoeist Jess Fox wore green and gold facemasks and held their own Australian paraphernalia.
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who will represent Japan, was handed the honour of lighting the cauldron following the ceremony.
Osaka climbed up the stairs to a pyramid inspired by Mount Fuji to light the cauldron which sat inside a flower.
The world No.2’s mother is Japanese and her father is Haitian.
Japan had earlier kicked off the Covid-delayed event with a symbolic show of hope and tenacity in the face of adversity.
Naomi Osaka lights her torch before running to the cauldron to get the Tokyo Olympics underway after a year of delays
Osaka is seen at the bottom of a pyramid representing Mount Fuji before lighting the cauldron
Osaka is pictured carrying the Olympic torch towards the cauldron on Friday night to herald the opening of the games
Tennis player Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic cauldron to mark the official opening of the Tokyo 2020 Games which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who will represent Japan, was handed the honour of lighting the cauldron following the ceremony
One Aussie athlete poses for a photo during the opening ceremony on Friday night
Australia was the 38th nation to walk out into the stadium with a team of 63 athletes donning green and gold
Campbell and Mills are seen walking into the stadium as Australians cheer on from home
Sixty-three athletes representing Australia marched out on Friday night during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Mills is seen leading the Aussies on Friday night. The Tokyo Games will be his fourth Olympics
Australia will have a team of 287 athletes across 33 sports for the 2020 Games
Cate Campbell is seen waving while carrying out the flag at the Tokyo Olympic Games
There were just 950 VIPs and world leaders inside the 68,000-seat main arena in Tokyo to watch the display of light and colour amid rising case totals in the country which forced organisers to ban crowds.
Sombre and socially-distanced – gone were the tightly-packed dance routines that traditionally mark opening ceremonies as directors instead made the best use of projection technology to add colour and pageantry.
A large firework display did add a burst of sound to what was otherwise an eerily quiet event, after organisers opted against playing artificial crowd noises in the arena.
Earlier in the day hundreds of sports fans gathered outside the main Olympic arena and certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, some dressed in traditional Japanese regalia while others posed for photos in front of the Olympics’ famous rings.
Supporters were also treated to a fly-past by the Blue Impact military display team, whose jets streaked through the sky above the stadium trailing coloured smoke.
Patty Mills poses for a photo with the Australian flag while Cate Campbell takes the shot during the opening ceremony on Friday night
The Tokyo Olympics began with a bang as fireworks exploded over an otherwise eerily quiet arena after crowds were banned with less than 1,000 dignitaries, delegates, and VIPs in attendance
Fireworks explode over the main Olympic stadium in Tokyo as the Opening Ceremony gets underway, a year after the event was delayed due to the Covid pandemic
Fireworks go off during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic games
Wooden Olympic rings made from the wood of trees planted the last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics are brought into the main arena during the Opening Ceremony
Performers take part in the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, a year after it was scheduled due to Covid delays
Great Britain is seen walking out during the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony
Team GB enter the Olympic stadium in Tokyo, Japan, led by flagbearers Hannah Mills and Mohamed Sbihi after rules were changed to allow one male and one female flagbearer
Olympic rings are formed during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium
Sue Bird and Eddy Alvares, of the United States of America, carry their country’s flag during the opening ceremony
Fireworks go off inside the stadium during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
Olympic rings are formed during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium
Sue Bird and Eddy Alvares, of the United States of America, carry their country’s flag during the opening ceremony
Fireworks go off inside the stadium during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
Fireworks go off and performers dance during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium
Performers take part in the Olympics opening ceremony in Tokyo on Friday night as the Covid-delayed games got underway
A group of performers carry out a routine during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
A routine featuring traditional Japanese woodworkers which built much of Japan’s infrastructure before the introduction of concrete and steel in the modern era
Performers play traditional Japanese woodworkers, symbolizing the country’s history during the opening ceremony
Performers dance as the Olympic Cauldron is seen during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
The national anthem is performed during the opening ceremony of the Covid-delayed 2020 Olympics in Japan
The Japanese flag is carried onto the stage during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Japan raises its flag in the Olympic Stadium as the national anthem is sung during the opening ceremony
The Japanese flag is raised over the main Olympic stadium in Tokyo during the opening ceremony
The image of a single athlete rising from the ground with a plant shoot behind them began the opening ceremony, symbolizing hope that springs anew in the face of adversity
An opening dance routine showed performers entangled in a web of red threads, symbolizing the fear and anxiety that many have been through in the last 18 months
Performers dance during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
The theme of the opening segment was of athletics being used to overcome adversity, which organisers hope will be the lasting legacy of the Tokyo Olympics
Performances dance during a light show during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Dancers take part in the opening performance of the ceremony, which featured the theme of sport overcoming adversity
Performers are seen during the opening ceremony taking place in Tokyo after a year of pandemic delays
Performers during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Japan
A group of performers carry out a routine during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
A performance paying tribute to all those who have died due to Covid and other causes in 2020 takes place before viewers were asked to observe a moment of silence
A performer dances on stage during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Performers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games at the National Stadium
A group of performers carry out a routine during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
A darkened Tokyo Olympic stadium is seen shortly before the start of the much-anticipated Olympic opening ceremony
The main Olympic stadium in Tokyo is seen illuminated against the city skyline during the opening ceremony
Meanwhile Olympic torchbearers beamed as they took part in a final relay event – taking just a few steps before passing the flame instead of the usual running due to Covid rules.
The show focused on Japan’s history as well as its contribution to modern culture and technology.
A moment of silence for all victims of the Covid pandemic was also observed, after which dancers representing Japanese woodworkers took the stage representing the country’s history and culture.
They formed Olympic rings made from the wood of trees planted the last time Japan hosted the Olympics in the 1960s, before the traditional Parade of Nations with athletes filing into the arena under the banners of their countries – though their numbers were much-reduced from previous years.
Adding a further unexpected element to the performance is the fact that one of the directors – Kantaro Kobayashi – was forced to resign just yesterday after a past comedy sketch he performed that included jokes about the Holocaust resurfaced.
The Games were supposed to take place last year but organisers took a high-stakes gamble to postpone them due to the Covid pandemic, in the hopes that the virus would be under control by now.
Officials now have the unenviable task of staging the Games while the most-infectious form of Covid to date is in circulation, causing cases to rise rapidly in Japan amid fears the Olympics will become a super-spreader event.
Tokyo reported 1,359 COVID-19 cases on Friday, part of a wave of infection in the capital as the Olympic Games kick off, it’s highest one-day toll since January.
Even this slimmed-down version of the competition – with strict limits on who can stay in Athletes’ Village and crowds banned from stadiums – will see some 50,000 people gather in the largest international event since the pandemic began.
And while Covid cases driven by the Delta variant are rising rapidly in other countries – such as the UK – Japan has fully vaccinated just 20 per cent of its population, one of the lowest rates among developed countries.
That has made the Games unpopular with the Japanese public, with polls consistently showing a majority of people do not support the event going ahead and do not expect to enjoy watching.
That anger was visible on Friday as locals waving banners that read ‘NOlympics’ and ‘Cancel the Tokyo Olympics’ were pictured in Tokyo at a torch relay event.
Flag bearers Anna Korakaki and Eleftherios Petrounias of Team Greece are seen at the opening ceremony
Argentina’s flag bearers Cecilia Carranza Saroli and Santiago Raul Lange lead the delegation during the opening ceremony
The team of Argentina poses for a photo during the highly anticipated opening ceremony on Friday night
Flag bearer Yousuf Almatrooshi of Team United Arab Emirates leads their team out during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Snaefridur Sol Jorunnardottir and Anton Mckee, of Iceland, carry their country’s flag during the opening ceremony
The Irish team of athletes are seen heading out into the Japanese stadium on Friday night
Team Azerbaijan are seen at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony
Members from the Afghanistan team hold the flag proudly during the Tokyo Games
Natalia Santos of Angola, carries her country’s flag during the opening ceremony
Kirabo Namutebi of Uganda leads her contingent during the opening ceremony
Ukraine are seen walking into the stadium as limited crowds cheer on
Pictured are the flagbearers of Iraq during Friday night’s opening ceremony
Pictured are the Refugee Olympic Team during the opening ceremony
Greece is the first team to walk out in the ceremony as the country was the first to ever host the Olympic Games
Empty seats are seen during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opening ceremony amid the Covid-19 pandemic
President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach (centre), Japanese Emperor Naruhito (second right) and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (far right) enter the Olympic arena as during the opening ceremony
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, the Games’ guest of honour, waves to the small crowd of VIPs and special guests in the stadium
US First Lady Jill Biden speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron as they arrive at the opening ceremony
Jill Biden drops her head for a moment of silence to remember those lost during the Covid pandemic at the opening ceremony
There are now 110 cases of Covid linked directly to the Games after another 25 were reported Thursday, bringing the total number of infected athletes to 13 including another member of the Czech team – road cyclist Michal Schlegel.
Three members of the media were also included in the latest total – which only counts those who tested positive in Japan and not those who were diagnosed in their home countries before making the journey.
Schlegel tested positive at the team’s training base in Izu and will miss Saturday’s road race.
The Czech Olympic Committee said in a statement Friday that Schlegel is in isolation, and that Michael Kukrle and Zdenek Stybar will be its only two riders lining up at Musashinonomori Park for one of the first medal events of the Summer Games.
Czech beach volleyball players Marketa Slukova and Ondrej Perusic and table tennis player Pavel Sirucek also tested positive earlier this week.
That has prompted the Czech Olympic team to investigate whether the outbreak is linked to its chartered flight to Tokyo.
Sports fans gather outside Tokyo’s main stadium to take pictures in front of the Olympic rings and soak in the atmosphere ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony
Olympic super-fan Kyoko Ishikawa, who has attended every Summer Olympics in the past 30 years, celebrates outside Tokyo’s main stadium as the Games finally comes to her country
Japanese display team Blue Impulse take part in an aerial show over Tokyo’s Olympic stadium ahead of the opening ceremony
Blue Impulse display jets release coloured smoke over Tokyo hours before the main Opening Ceremony is due to take place
Crowds point their cameras at the sky as jets from the Blue Impulse display team perform in the skies over Tokyo
People take photographs as jets fly over Tokyo ahead of the official start of the Olympics
People stand outside the National Stadium before the opening of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
A woman in traditional clothing looks on from behind a fence prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games