The Olympics always proves to be the biggest sporting event of the year, and the 2021 Games in Japan (perhaps confusingly still called Tokyo 2020) were no exception. The world’s best athletes gathered in one location to distinguish the good from the great in a series of friendly matchups. And with so many contests over the  two week period pitting country versus country, it should come as no surprise that there were (literally) hundreds of ways to watch the Olympics online!

We should stress that unofficial Olympic streams are best avoided. These are at risk of being taken down at a key moment, and to make matters worse, their video quality is usually pretty poor. Besides, with plenty of legitimate ways to stream the Olympics online (some of them free), there’s no need to use shady sources.

The 2021 Olympics were shown in dozens of countries, but because of regional restrictions, you’ll usually need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to watch on the same services you’d use back home.

How to watch the Olympics online from abroad

VPNs are perhaps best known as privacy tools. However, because they change your IP address, they can also be used to bypass geographic restrictions and access country-exclusive services from anywhere. Below we explain how to watch the Olympics on your usual services while traveling abroad.

Here’s how to stream the 2021 Olympics online from anywhere:

  • Start by signing up for a high-quality VPN. We recommend NordVPN but Surfshark and ExpressVPN are two excellent alternatives.
  • Download and install the VPN app onto any device you want to stream. Note that most VPNs let you secure five or so devices at once.
  • Log in and choose a server in your home country. Now, your usual services won’t be able to tell that you’re actually abroad.
  • Try watching a video on your chosen streaming service. It should start immediately; if not, clear your cookies and try again. Alternatively, contact your VPN’s support team for one-on-one assistance.

How to stream the 2021 Summer Olympics on US TV

NBC is the official Olympics broadcaster in the US. It spread over 7,000 hours of English-language coverage across six of its services: Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, and Golf Channel. Spanish coverage, meanwhile, will be on Telemundo and Universo.

There are no hidden terms—just let customer support know within 30 days if you decide NordVPN isn’t right for you and you’ll get a full refund. Start your NordVPN trial here.

You can either sign in with your cable provider details or a supported streaming service to watch these online. We’d recommend using either fuboTV or YouTube TV; these platforms carry all of the above channels, and include a free trial period (though they cost around $64.99 USD per month afterward).

It’s technically possible to watch on Hulu with Live TV, but you’ll have to pay an extra $4.99 per month to get access to Universo, and there’s no way to watch events on Telemundo.

As these are all US-only services, you’ll need a VPN to use them while traveling abroad. NordVPN includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means you can try it risk-free and simply claim a full refund if it fails to meet your expectations.

Where else can I watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games online?

There’s huge international interest in this event, so naturally, it’ll be shown worldwide. Take a look at the table below for an at-a-glance guide to the official 2020 Olympic broadcasters in your country:

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out this master list of 2020 Olympics broadcasters on Wikipedia.