The more time passes, the closer we get to the date when the Olympic Games should begin. I've been following the topic as it's an interesting one. Probably I'm not the only one having doubts about if the games will take place and my suspicions start to become reality.
Making the final decision of postponing the Olympic Games with one year wasn't an easy decision last year, it took the organizers awhile to make it but on the other hand that was the only possible solution at that time.
Today it's the tenth day of the New Year, there are still six months and a half till the estimated start date (Friday, July 23, 2021) but things are not looking good. The number of infections are around 1300/day and rising. Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike asked the public to put life before fun.
Vaccination is going to start in February, with front line workers first, so there's no way they can vaccinate the masses and get the much desired herd immunity till July.
The double whammy of rising costs and coronavirus fears have combined to turn the Japanese public against the Olympics. In a December poll by the public broadcaster NHK, 63% of respondents said the Games should be postponed again or cancelled. Just 27% said they should take place. source
The International Olympic Committee's position on this is that another postponement is out of the question. If the games won't take place this year, the only solution is cancellation. This would be the biggest loss in the history of the games, not to mention Japan, that has invested an crazy amount of money in this in vain.
Organizers still believe they can host the event safely but I think that's partly wishful thinking and forced by circumstances as no one can guarantee the safety of those people, not to mention the additional personnel needed. They may go ahead with the plan of hosting the event but it can turn against them quickly if things go wrong.
Japan has shut its borders until the end of the month, the Tokyo metropolitan government has asked the central government to declare a state of emergency, and most of Europe is in ever-tighter lockdown. source
So a month-long, limited state of emergency was declared in Tokyo, and three neighboring prefectures on Thursday to stop the spread of the virus. Restaurants and bars are asked to close by 8 pm for the same reason. These are necessary measures, everyone knows that but the economic consequences are inevitable and many will go out of business.
I'm skeptical about this, don't see any good solution and truly think the games will be cancelled. This is my personal opinion, based on how things happen.
There's another scenario, in which organizers will go ahead with the plan to organize the games, knowing the costs but willing sacrifice people's health for financial reasons. Participation may not be 100% is national lockdown will be in place before the game and even without it, some countries may decide not to risk the health of their delegation.
Paris is next in line in 2024. There are three yeast till then but organizers can not stay calm as a similar situation can occur anytime.
This crazy pandemic has changed sport forever. Any organizer from now on has to take into consideration the possibility of a pandemic and calculate it into the budget. Plus create a scenario in case it happens. Life must go on, no matter what happens, we can't put out life on hold.
As I said, I'm skeptical and hope I'm wrong. I'd love to see the games along with millions around the worlds.
What do you think? Will there be Olympic Games this year or not?
I'm sad to say but I don't think so, feels weird to ship people from all over the world to compete. And than I'm not even talking about the audience, just the competitors
11000 competitors, plus the stuff that comes with them, trainers, managers, doctors etc.
I don't see it happening either. They spoke about a special clinic inside the village for treating covid but realistically there are not just 30 people or 100 people, but thousands involved. I feel sorry for the athletes who have been training now for Two Olympics and will miss out. Your body doesn't stop ageing and for some this was their last chance and they have been robbed of that highlight.
If I could bet money on the games not happening I would. The organizers probably don't want them to happen yet either since there is a tremendous amount of money that goes into preparing for an Olympics without a global pandemic.