U.S. first lady Jill Biden to attend Olympics opening ceremony

Washington, July 13, 2021

U.S first lady Jill Biden will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23, the White House said on Tuesday.

Further details will be announced at a later date.

Her husband, President Joe Biden, is not expected to be at the Games, according to the Washington Post.

White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki said last week that Biden supports the Olympics in Tokyo and the protective measures taken there to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement of the first lady’s trip to Tokyo comes a few days after local organizers confirmed that spectators won’t be allowed at the Olympic events, due to the rising coronavirus infections and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

Tokyo and neighbouring regions are under a fourth state of emergency that will run provisionally until Aug. 22.