Japan holds subdued celebrations Thursday evening to mark one yr till the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the coronavirus pandemic elevating stark issues about whether or not the Video games will go forward. In Tokyo, which ought to have been buzzing with hundreds of athletes and followers by now, organisers will maintain a small occasion at an empty Nationwide Stadium within the night after the general public had been barred following a brand new surge in infections. Olympic countdown boards have been quietly reset across the capital, the place digital indicators show the message “365 days to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics“.
Regardless of the setbacks and the downbeat temper, Japanese and Olympic officers haven’t wavered from the message that the Video games will go on, serving as an emblem of the world’s restoration from the virus.
“They would be the first worldwide gathering after the coronavirus,” Worldwide Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach insisted final week.
However consultants and officers — together with Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — have raised the prospect of the primary peace-time cancellation of the multi-billion greenback Video games if the pandemic is just not beneath management by subsequent yr.
The historic resolution in March to delay the Video games got here as the true scale of the pandemic was rising and nations imposed lockdowns that threw coaching into chaos and compelled the cancellation of qualifiers and take a look at occasions.
Since then, restrictions have been eased throughout a lot of Europe as infections and deaths from the virus decline, however elsewhere — together with in america, Brazil and India — the illness stays rampant.
And in locations the place lockdowns have ended or countermeasures been eased, the virus has typically come roaring again, elevating questions in regards to the feasibility of an occasion involving tens of hundreds of individuals arriving from around the globe.
Public sentiment dips
Public sentiment in Japan additionally seems lower than optimistic, with two polls in July displaying the vast majority of Japanese assume the Video games must be postponed once more or cancelled altogether.
Solely someplace between one quarter and a 3rd of respondents within the polls thought the Video games ought to open as scheduled on July 23, 2021.
Tokyo additionally recorded 366 new infections on Thursday, a every day file.
“I am afraid in regards to the state of affairs,” mentioned Sachiko Ahunwan, a 50-year-old division retailer worker. “It is unclear how far the coronavirus will be settled,” she informed AFP.
Japanese and Olympic officers have insisted that one other delay is unimaginable. The unprecedented one-year postponement has already triggered a number of logistical and monetary complications.
One main impediment has been cleared, with Tokyo 2020 confirming this month that it has secured all of the venues initially contracted for the Video games.
Successful settlement from stadiums that had been booked up lengthy after the unique Olympic date was thought-about among the many most tough challenges organisers confronted.
With the venues set, the competitors schedule has now been agreed, making only a few modifications to the unique calendar.
“Now athletes aiming to participate within the Tokyo Olympics can set concrete objectives to work towards,” Tokyo 2020 sports activities director Koji Murofushi mentioned final week.
However sports activities stars are much less optimistic.
“To be sincere, I nonetheless cannot take into consideration subsequent yr’s Olympics,” Olympic champion and Japanese judo king Shohei Ono informed public broadcaster NHK. “I am simply setting a purpose just for every week forward.”
Empty stadiums?
A lot else stays unclear, together with the ultimate value of the delay, with organisers saying solely that they plan a pared-down occasion that can contain as a lot cost-saving as doable.
Even the historically lavish opening and shutting ceremonies could also be scaled again.
And what measures will probably be needed to stop the unfold of the virus — assuming it has not been introduced beneath management by subsequent yr — additionally stay to be determined.
How athletes and followers will arrive in Japan can be an open query on condition that the nation’s borders are closed to travellers from all however a handful of countries as a part of the federal government’s coronavirus management measures.
Promoted
Bach final week acknowledged that journey restrictions and quarantine necessities might play havoc with the Video games, and he was lukewarm on the prospect of holding the occasion with out followers.
“It is not what we wish,” mentioned Bach. “We wish stadia stuffed with enthusiastic followers.”
Subjects talked about on this article
Source link
