The Covid-19 pandemic has loomed large over the Tokyo Olympics ever since last year’s postponement, shaping a Games the like of which has never been seen before.
When the opening ceremony gets underway on Friday, it will put an end to months of speculation over whether the Olympics would be even able to go ahead, as well as prompting further questions about how Covid-19 could shape the weeks to come. Tokyo 2020 will host about 11,000 athletes — representing more than 200 countries — and they will be staying in 21 residential buildings. However, not all of these athletes will be in Tokyo for the whole duration of the Games. Organizers say athletes will be expected to arrive in the Olympic Village five days prior to their competition and depart a maximum of two days after. Even so that presents a significant logistical headache for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the local organizing committee. Added to that is the longstanding resistance to staging the Olympics among the Japanese public. « The recent polls constantly show 60 to 80% Japanese public are opposing the Games, » Satoko Itani, associate professor of sports, gender and sexuality at Kansai University in Japan, tells CNN Sport. « Their main concern is Covid-19, but there is also an increasing frustration and anger towards the attitudes and glaring disrespect to people’s lives here by the IOC, the Japanese government, and the organizing committee. » When contacted by CNN, the IOC referenced president Thomas Bach’s comments at a press conference in Tokyo last Saturday: « Even in Japan, there was never 100% support of the Olympics Games… this is part of democracy, you will always have different opinions, » said Bach. « That such a discussion is becoming more heated and more emotional in the situation of a pandemic is something we have to understand. » He later added that he wanted to give the public confidence in the organizers’ « strict Covid measures. » The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee did not immediately respond to CNN’s request to comment. ‘If you can’t execute the plan, then the plan is no good’ Thursday saw Tokyo record 1,979 new Covid cases, the highest since January 15, and as of Thursday, there have so far been 91 positive cases linked to the Games as those arriving in Tokyo undergo a rigorous testing program.
