Will the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games be cancelled?

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Will Tokyo Olympics be cancelled? Or will it be held?

 

Covid cases are so high on daily basis. Athletes health will also be in danger as covid can spread very fast too.

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https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/52747797

 

 

IOC's Thomas Bach accepts Tokyo Olympics would have to be cancelled if not held in 2021

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https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/24/national/tokyo-olympics-cancel-delay-survey/

 

70% of Japanese want Tokyo Games to be canceled or delayed

 

Over 70% of people in Japan think that this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be canceled or postponed again, a think tank survey showed Saturday.

 

The survey by the Japan Press Research Institute showed that 37.9% of respondents said the Tokyo Games should be canceled while 34% said the events should be postponed again.

 

The proportion of respondents who said the events should take place as scheduled stood at 26.1%. The Tokyo Games were already postponed by one year from summer 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Of those who opposed holding the games this summer, 83.4% said the events would bring many people to Japan from around the world, leading to a further spread of the virus, while 64.3% said there is no prospect of the pandemic being contained.

 

Of those who favored holding the games as scheduled, 67.3% noted that athletes have been preparing for the events and 49.3% said people would be encouraged by athletes’ performances and the excitement brought by the games.

 

The poll showed that 44.8% said that if the games are canceled or postponed again, preparations made so far, including the construction of sporting venues, would end up being a waste of resources.

 

The poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17, collecting answers from some 3,000 people aged 18 or older.

[pdr4332 218]

Common sense would say just let it go (that is, cancel it).
But in one hand, big time political and business interests are in play, both by the IOC, the JP government, the big TV networks, and so on.
On the other hand, it might be devastating for the athletes, some of whom might not be able to participate in the next Olympics (2024) or they will not be in a form needed for a medal or top-6 finish. The large scale boycotts of 1980 and 1984 have a lot of these personal stories.

Of course it is different to miss the OG for a once-in-a-century pandemic and a political decision.

My money is either on an Olympics with no spectators, or a cancellation in the last possible minute (say late March or so), after every alternative approach is exhausted or discarded as not viable (IOC and local organizers will deny the cancellation as long as possible, the same way they denied the postponement last year)

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3 minutes ago, dharang said:

Common sense would say just let it go (that is, cancel it).
But in one hand, big time political and business interests are in play, both by the IOC, the JP government, the big TV networks, and so on.
On the other hand, it might be devastating for the athletes, some of whom might not be able to participate in the next Olympics (2024) or they will not be in a form needed for a medal or top-6 finish. The large scale boycotts of 1980 and 1984 have a lot of these personal stories.

Of course it is different to miss the OG for a once-in-a-century pandemic and a political decision.

My money is either on an Olympics with no spectators, or a cancellation in the last possible minute (say late March or so), after every alternative approach is exhausted or discarded as not viable (IOC and local organizers will deny the cancellation as long as possible, the same way they denied the postponement last year)

Totally agreed with what you have said. 

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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jan/22/tokyo-olympics-covid-putting-real-pressure-on-japan-says-australia-pm-amid-cancellation-rumours

 

Excerpt from the article

 

 

Sources at the International Olympic Committee have also told the Guardian that they are still planning for a “full Games” in July, despite the spiralling number of Covid-19 cases in Japan and across the globe. They also dismissed a Times report that said that government officials had resigned themselves to cancelling the Olympics and were instead hoping a wave of sympathy would help Tokyo secure the 2032 Games.

“No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” the Times quoted an unnamed senior member of Japan’s ruling coalition as saying. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

 

The source added: “[The prime minister Yoshihide] Suga is not emotionally invested in the Games. But they want to show that they are ready to go, so that they will get another chance in 11 years. In these circumstances, no one could really object to that.”

 

However, doubts still remain about whether the Olympics and Paralympics, which are expected to have 15,000 participants, can go ahead given the rising number of coronavirus cases in Tokyo.

 

However Bach’s optimism was criticised as “ignoring reality” by the leading sports marketer Robert Maes, whose experience after working with 30 national Olympic committees and five global sponsors made him deeply sceptical.

 

“I cannot see how the Olympics can be held in the current climate,” he said. “In Japan, we have an explosive rise of the virus cases and the seriousness of them and because of the lack of tests the true numbers are surely underreported. A vast majority of the public is saying they don’t want the Olympics. Test events need to be cancelled. Many of the people I speak to are increasingly sceptical. They won’t say that publicly but it’s true.

 

“There is also total silence here from all the sponsors. No activation, no servicing, because if they come out to be visible in support, they might get a huge backlash if it all goes wrong in July.”

 

[De_Gambassi 1,267]

Don't know how posting articles from weeks or months ago is of any help ?...

 

Anyway, for the games to be cancelled, someone must have an interest to cancel them. The IOC, the organizing committee, the japanese state, the world of sport at large, TV they all need the game to happen whatever the difficulties might be.

It's gonna be ugly, it will be very unfair for many athletes (see boxers as an early exemple), but Tokyo 2020 will happen.

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1 minute ago, De_Gambassi said:

Don't know how posting articles from weeks or months ago is of any help ?...

 

Anyway, for the games to be cancelled, someone must have an interest to cancel them. The IOC, the organizing committee, the Japanese state, the world of sport at large, TV they all need the game to happen whatever the difficulties might be.

It's gonna be ugly, it will be very unfair for many athletes (see boxers as an early example), but Tokyo 2020 will happen.

I understand your point of view. Well said. Somehow we will have to wait for IOC to come up with a wise decision.

[George_D 1,473]

could the Olympics be held with no spectators?

[Adriano 625]

I think it is too late to cancelled the Olympic.