The risk project Olympia is also deeply in conflict six weeks before the opening of the summer games in Tokyo. The first athletes have already arrived in Japan, but the host city is still in a state of corona. Olympic organizers and many athletes long for the start of the competitions, the majority of Japanese continue to demand postponement or cancellation. The big question: what is actually in favor of the games and what is against it?
PRO OLYMPIA
SIGNAL EFFECT: “The torch of hope” and “the light at the end of the tunnel” – that's what IOC boss Thomas Bach and the organizers used to call the Tokyo Games. The big sports festival with athletes from all over the world should be a sign that the pandemic has been overcome. Charged in this way, another relocation or even renouncing the Olympics would be a defeat with the most bitter symbolic power.
ATHLETE GOAL: The most recent qualification competitions have shown how much the Olympics attract many athletes even in these times and how great the joy is about a ticket. It is much the same for many competitive athletes who have been training for the Olympics for years and have already been hit hard by the postponement. A cancellation could mean that some people lose their only chance to participate in a game.
CORONA BUBBLE: A number of international sporting events and several test competitions in Tokyo have shown that safe games are possible. The effort that goes into this is enormous. Little freedom of movement and frequent corona tests for all participants, strict hygiene rules in the Olympic village and the arenas, the exclusion of foreign visitors – the measures are far-reaching. In addition, according to the International Olympic Committee, more than 80 percent of the residents of the athletes' village will already have been vaccinated.
FINANCE: The Olympics organizers officially expect spending of around 12.7 billion euros. Much of this money has already been spent and would be lost if canceled. Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa warned that securing the competition venues and accommodation would be difficult in the event of another postponement. For the IOC, billions depend on television and the sponsorships of the games. If this money does not flow, international associations and National Olympic Committees could get into trouble because they benefit proportionately from the IOC income. It is unclear whether and to what extent insurance would step in. Many athletes would also have losses because there were no possible bonuses and advertising contracts.
POLITICAL DIMENSION: For Japan's leadership, a rejection would be a disgrace. On the one hand, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has so far stubbornly stuck to the prestigious Olympia project because he is also hoping for a tailwind for the autumn elections. On the other hand, in the event of a cancellation, arch-rival China would be the first Olympic host after the pandemic with the Winter Games in Beijing 2022 instead of Japan.
CONTRA OLYMPIA:
SUPERSPREADER: Japan's most important corona government advisor Shigeru Omi put it in a nutshell: “In the current situation, it is not normal to host the games.” Like many of his colleagues, the doctor considers it high risk to allow around 78,000 foreigners to enter the Olympics and Paralympics during a pandemic. There is a threat of the spread of the virus and even the emergence of new mutants, which could then return to many countries with the guests. Japan's health system has been at its limit for months, and the vaccination rate is very low. The third state of emergency for Tokyo, which has been in force since the end of April, will continue until at least June 20. Nobody really needs a sports festival as a corona accelerator.
ANTI-MOOD: The surveys in Japan have shown a stable rejection of the summer games for months. In May, more than 350,000 Japanese signed a petition against the Olympics. Around 10,000 volunteers have already withdrawn their willingness to work at the games. A number of cities that were planned as training quarters have also canceled. At the moment it looks like the Olympics are taking place against the will of the hosts.
WITHOUT SOUL: A festival of the peoples, a seething place of international encounters – this is Olympia at best. Little of it will be left in Tokyo. Foreign fans, and even many athlete families, remain locked out. The athletes should at most meet at a distance, otherwise they should stay in their own partial bubbles and stay in Japan as short as possible. The medal hunt becomes an aseptic TV event – is that really still the Olympic spirit?
UNEQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: The fight for the corona vaccination was raging in the world of athletes. Not everyone will get the spades in time for Tokyo, poorer nations in particular could be at a disadvantage. And for some who were vaccinated late, the effects of the vaccine messed up the preparation. Corona could also have effects when it comes to doping because it was hardly possible to test for several months. Many a sports fraudster could have taken advantage of this, even if the doping hunters praise the high level of the pre-Olympic control program.
