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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 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 National Stadium within the night after the general public have 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“.
Despite the setbacks and the downbeat temper, Japanese and Olympic officers haven’t wavered from the message that the Games will go on, serving as a logo of the world’s restoration from the virus.
“They will be the first worldwide gathering after the coronavirus,” International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach insisted final week.
But specialists 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 Games if the pandemic will not be underneath management by subsequent yr.
The historic resolution in March to delay the Games got here as the actual scale of the pandemic was rising and nations imposed lockdowns that threw coaching into chaos and compelled the cancellation of qualifiers and check occasions.
Since then, restrictions have been eased throughout a lot of Europe as infections and deaths from the virus decline, however elsewhere — together with within the United States, Brazil and India — the illness stays rampant.
And in locations the place lockdowns have ended or countermeasures been eased, the virus has usually come roaring again, elevating questions concerning 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 nearly all of Japanese suppose the Games ought to be postponed once more or cancelled altogether.
Only someplace between one quarter and a 3rd of respondents within the polls thought the Games ought to open as scheduled on July 23, 2021.
Tokyo additionally recorded 366 new infections on Thursday, a day by day file.
“I’m afraid about the situation,” mentioned Sachiko Ahunwan, a 50-year-old division retailer worker. “It’s unclear how far the coronavirus can be settled,” she informed AFP.
Japanese and Olympic officers have insisted that one other delay is not possible. The unprecedented one-year postponement has already brought about 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 Games.
Winning settlement from stadiums that have been booked up lengthy after the unique Olympic date was thought-about among the many most troublesome challenges organisers confronted.
With the venues set, the competitors schedule has now been agreed, making only a few adjustments to the unique calendar.
“Now athletes aiming to take part in the Tokyo Olympics can set concrete goals to work toward,” Tokyo 2020 sports activities director Koji Murofushi mentioned final week.
But sports activities stars are much less optimistic.
“To be honest, I still can’t think about next year’s Olympics,” Olympic champion and Japanese judo king Shohei Ono informed public broadcaster NHK. “I’m just setting a goal only for a week ahead.”
Empty stadiums?
Much else stays unclear, together with the ultimate price 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 forestall the unfold of the virus — assuming it has not been introduced underneath management by subsequent yr — additionally stay to be determined.
How athletes and followers will arrive in Japan can also be an open query provided 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 Games, and he was lukewarm on the prospect of holding the occasion with out followers.
“It’s not what we want,” mentioned Bach. “We want stadia full of enthusiastic fans.”
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