Now that it is 2021, there's been one big question on every sport fanatic's mind: will the 2021 Tokyo Olympics happen, or will they be cancelled? Last year, the Olympics were supposed to take place in the summer, but were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreaks all over the world. Currently, the games are supposed to take place from July 23 to August 8th, with more than 11,000 athletes from around 200 countries scheduled to take part in the 2021 Games.
Although the Japanese government was optimistic about the games taking place in 2021, things are not looking so good for Japan in terms of coronavirus cases. In the month of January, Tokyo has doubled the monthly Covid-19 record with nearly 40,000 cases in that month. Japan as a country also has a total of 387k cases and nearly 6000 deaths. Although the daily case amount is decreasing, it is at a very slow rate.
Sir Keith Mills was the Chief Executive for the London 2012 Olympics. In an interview with the BBC, Mills said he sees the 2021 Olympics as unlikely to happen with Tokyo currently under a state of emergency in the coronavirus pandemic. If the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics were to happen, Japan would be in serious trouble financially. They have spent 11.5 billion dollars to build, construct and plan the Olympics, which would all go to waste if the cancellation were to happen.
Although Japan would lose a lot of money, the idea of cancelling the Olympics is not unpopular among the Japanese society. A recent Kyoto News survey found that around 80% of Japanese people want a cancellation or postponement. Last year, International Olympics Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach told the BBC the Games would have to be canceled if it cannot take place this summer.
Even though the plans for the 2021 Olympics are not clear yet, people all over the world are hoping that the Olympics will take place; especially those who have already bought tickets. An ISB teacher, Mr. Bell, has said he “hopes they will take place because [he] already bought my tickets!” Taro Kono, a member of Japan’s cabinet, broke with his government’s official line, saying the Games “could go either way.” The only thing the world can do now is wait and see how Japan tackles this situation.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/30/national/58-percent-japanese-tokyo-olympics-spectators/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/28/japan-faces-olympian-task-slow-start-covid-vaccinations#img-1
https://olympicsvenue.com/tokyo-prepares-reserved-parking-spaces-for-olympics.html
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/11/national/tokyo-olympics-poll-coronavirus/