Well, there goes that unconfirmed opening ceremony Perfume performance. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been cancelled.

As Miss Corona's Contamination world tour continues cancelling events globally, the one event that was trying to stand steadfast, and not get cancelled...has now officially been cancelled.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is now the Tokyo 2021 Olympics...maybe. Because with the way 2019 and 2020 has turned out thus far, who the fuck knows what will come along in 2021 to cancel the Olympics again.

I guess the good news is that those living in Tokyo won't have to put up with hoards of athletes and tourists, so they can have their disgustingly hot and humid Summer free from swaths of gaijin.

For Perfume fans however, it means that they won't get to see the girls take to the world stage and show everybody how you put on a fucking show.

I say this even though it wasn't confirmed that Perfume would be performing. But they were so gonna.

Rumours were abound for quite some time that Perfume would be performing at the Tokyo 2020 olympics opening ceremony and fans had pretty much taken it as fact, even though there was no fax confirming that they were. But given that the Rhizomatiks (the tech creatives responsible for Perfume's stage wizardry), Mikiko (their choreographer) and Nakata Yasutaka's (the Grim Reaper of Perfume's sound) involvement in the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janiero Olympics and how well received their work was, many figured they would be a part of the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony too. But it would make no sense for them to be involved in the opening ceremony without Perfume. So, that was that theory. But Perfume's involvement in the opening ceremony was hinted at in their music video for "Everyday", where a fan noticed that the clock in the video displays a very specific time, which they'd interpreted as something to do with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

22:07:20 = July 22nd 2020. A date which coincidences with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Perfume's creative team are too particular and specific for this to not mean SOMETHING.

Then we also got Reframe, which saw the Rhizomatiks, Mikiko, Nakata and Perfume come together for a technology focused showcase which was aired by NHK, who are were the official broadcasters of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And then to add more fuel to the fire, when the website for Perfume P³ (P Cubed) tour went live, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the tour was sponsored by Coca-Cola, who just also happened to be the official sponsors of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. They had also noted that the Coca-Cola logo on the website was the special Olympics logo as opposed to the classic one.

Amongst many fans, it was all but confirmed that Perfume would be performing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony and taken as fact that they would be.

If Perfume were indeed due to perform at the opening ceremony, whatever was planned can of course still be carried over into next year. And with technology playing such a key part in their shows, there are many advancements and improvements that can be made in a year to make their show even better.

There were also many rumours that Perfume would call it quits after their opening ceremony, as it seemed like the perfect thing to bookend their career after a 6th studio album and a Best album.

📝 Perfume album reviews: Game | ⊿ | JPN | LEVEL3 | Cosmic explorer | Future pop | The Best "P Cubed"
🔊 Playlists: The Rest "P Cubed" | Perfume Pussy Poppers
🎛️ Remix: Nananananairo (featuring Khia)