The Viral Olympics 2020 Fireworks Video Isn’t What You Think It Is

By now, a lot of us have probably seen or heard about the viral ‘Olympics 2020 fireworks video’ circulating online. At least 10 of my friends have even reposted it from a Facebook user by the name of Zhihong Yang since the video came out yesterday, 13 Aug 2020. As of writing, the post was also shared by over 38,000 people and garnered over 53,000 reactions.

In the post, Yang said that the ‘rumoured’ video of the fireworks — apparently set off in front of Mount Fuji — was meant to be displayed during the opening ceremony of the Olympics 2020 (also Tokyo 2020) in Japan. But as the event has been postponed to a year later, the organisers decided to set them off anyway because “these fireworks cannot be stored until 2021”. Hence, they were shown to the public in advance.

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Although spectacular, as Yang described it in her post, the viral Olympics 2020 fireworks video — backed up by composer Giochino Rossini’s unfailingly energising William Tell Overture — isn’t what you think it is. Long story short, it was fabricated, or better yet, reshared from 2015 when the original video was made using a computer simulation programme, supposedly in commemoration of Mount Fuji’s World Cultural Heritage registration two years back.

It would also be good to note that the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee did not share the video nor post any reference to it. Meanwhile, the original video posted on YouTube was uploaded by user hiramu55bocaboca. Dated 1 Dec 2015, it has over three million views on the platform. In any case, if you’re looking for a bit of vibrant inspiration in these gloomy times, the said Olympics 2020 fireworks video can definitely do that for you. It also ought to keep us on our toes for the real Tokyo Olympics taking place (fingers crossed) in the near future.

Watch one of the many Facebook versions of the video below.