The Tokyo 2020 Olympics officially opened yesterday after being postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Commentators are already busy speculating how many medals Team Poland will bring home this year. One of the biggest medal contenders is the Polish men’s volleyball team, with its recent record of success in the sport, including two world champion titles.
Meanwhile, the Polish tennis contingent for Tokyo, led by 8th-ranked Iga Świątek and 12th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, looks quite promising as well.
Numerous other options exist in the track and field categories, including current Olympic champion Anita Włodarczyk, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion in the women’s hammer throw, and the women’s 4x400m relay team, who are the current European champions.
Poland’s Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Games, Marcin Nowak, predicted earlier this month that Poland has a chance of winning at least 15 medals over the next few weeks.
The Games run in the Japanese capital until August 8.
Source: Radio Poland
Poland has sent a convoy of humanitarian aid to Lithuania as its eastern neighbor is struggling to contain growing migration pressure at its border with Belarus.
The convoy, organized by Poland’s Government Strategic Reserves Agency, arrived in Vilnius carrying tents, power generators, blankets, and camp beds worth about PLN 740,000 (EUR 162,000) in total, public broadcaster Polish Radio reported.
The problem of illegal migrants trying to reach western Europe through Lithuania worsened recently, with Lithuania’s Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė calling the surge in migration “a form of hybrid warfare” being conducted by the Belarusian government.
According to Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, the Lithuanian-Belarusian border has been illegally crossed by at least 1,800 people already this year, a sharp increase from 74 last year and 37 in 2019. Those arriving are mainly from Iraq, Syria, Tajikistan, and Russia,
In an effort to contain the growing inflow of illegal migrants from Belarus, Lithuania declared a state of emergency on July 2.
Source: Radio Poland
The 761st Jarmak Dominikanski officially kicked off this morning with a traditional opening ceremony and parade in the Gdańsk city center.
Visitor’s to one of Europe’s oldest festival traditions will have a unique opportunity this year; starting today visitors can get a free COVID-19 vaccination while checking out the sites and sounds of the annual festival.
Vaccinations will be administered on a first-come, first-serve basis each day between 10:00-20:00 at a new vaccination site located at Heweliusz Square, near the Old Town Hall on Korzenna Street.
Residents can choose from the two-dose preparation of Pfizer/BioNTech or the single shot from Johnson & Johnson. No registration or appointments are necessary.
According to government health data released last week, over a million (1,003,646) inhabitants of Pomerania (over 40% of the region’s population) are registered as being fully vaccinated.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland
Traffic on Al. Niepodległości in Sopot will be restricted to one lane in each direction due to scheduled road repairs this weekend.
From 17:30 on Friday until 6:00 on Monday morning, the eastbound section of Al. Niepodległości from ul. Armii Krajowej to ul. 23 Marca will be closed.
Traffic bound for Gdańsk will be rerouted to use one lane of the westbound road in the direction of Gdynia. Drivers wanting to access Sopot using this route are being advised to use alternate means of transportation or an alternate route.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will again be mostly sunny with a light breeze coming in from the north and very little chance of rain. Temperatures will peak around a high of 23°C, or 73°F, cooling off overnight to a low of 15°C or 59°F. Sunny, warm weather should continue throughout the weekend, with a chance for rain again early next week.
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