Performing dolphins provoke outcry during Tokyo 2020 test sailing event

Japanese organisers of the World Cup sailing competition are facing an angry backlash for featuring an acrobatic dolphin show in an aquarium during the opening ceremony.

Competitors and officials from the sport's own governing body said the decision sent the wrong message about a sport keen to highlight its green credentials.

The event, a major fixture in the global sailing world featuring 466 sailors from 44 nations, is being held this year at a test site for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Enoshima Island, about 43 miles south of the capital.

The controversial opening ceremony, which involved dolphins leaping high into the air in front of audiences, sparked a flurry of complaints.

Leading criticism was World Sailing, the body that governs global sailing, which expressed its “disappointment” with the performance and highlighted its commitments to protecting marine cetaceans.

“All content in Opening and Closing Ceremonies of World Sailing events must be pre-approved by World Sailing and no such approval was given nor sought from the Organising Committee for the show in Enoshima,” it said in a statement.

“World Sailing does not condone displays of this nature and apologises for the misjudgment and any offence caused.”

Among audience members offended by the display was Luke Patience, the British sailor and Olympic silver medalist, who posted a picture of the show on Twitter, alongside the comments: “Couldn’t be more embarrassed with what I’m witnessing. We are sailors, and apparently a ‘green’ sport.”

Japanese officials later issued an apology for any offence caused by the dolphin display, with Hirobumi Kawano, head of the Japan Sailing Federation, admitting that they had “lacked thought”.

“How to treat dolphins differs among countries and individuals,” he said. “We'd like to apologise if we made someone feel uncomfortable."

The fact that Japanese officials apparently failed to anticipate the furore a dolphin display would trigger among international sailors reflects deep-rooted cultural differences in relation to attitudes towards the marine mammals.

Japan continues to regularly hits the international headlines – and the nerves of global animal rights activists – with its annual dolphin cull in Taiji town in Wakayama prefecture, as depicted in the US film The Cove.