In an interview with NBC's Mike Tirico this afternoon, IOC President Thomas Bach confirmed what everybody already knew. If the Tokyo Olympics can't take place next year, they'll be cancelled entirely. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had already said that, and, frankly, the reason they were postponed instead of outright cancelled to begin with was because the organizing committee and Japanese government were both willing to take on the additional expense and logistical hurdles of a one-year delay.
Somehow that got translated into "Tokyo Olympics Cancelled," which then immediately started trending. I know headlines are designed to be click-bait, but that is in no way what Bach said! He said that if the Olympics can't be held in 2021, they won't be held at all. They key word there is if.
The plan is still to have the world gather in Tokyo next July. That's 14 months from now! That's a long time. Especially considering how much the world has changed since the start of 2020 (which was only five months ago!).
And, frankly, Bach was stating the obvious. It was hard enough to reschedule the Olympics for 2021. You can't keep postponing them indefinitely (imagine Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 taking place in back-to-back summers!). As he correctly pointed out in the interview, the hurdles they have to overcome just to delay by a year are immense. Not to mention the fact that you'd have to keep paying an organizing committee, force international federations to restructure their calendars, hope sponsors keep their commitments, and leave National Olympic Committees in limbo.
Most importantly, the athletes need definite answers. Bach, a former Olympian himself, knows that. That uncertainty was one of the things that led to the original postponement announcement in March. They put four (now five) years of work and sacrifice into making it to the Olympics. Some put their lives on hold. It would be unfair to them to keep pushing that date back.
Of course, back in March when the IOC was doing everything it could to still try and make the Games happen this summer, those same athletes felt it was unfair to ask them to train in the middle of a pandemic. Many were even wondering how they were supposed to train when countries were on lockdown and facilities were closed. Throw in travel bans and it would've made holding the Olympics this summer as originally scheduled impossible. Postponement was inevitable, and the IOC eventually gave in to the reality.
I was among those who agreed with the IOC's decision to wait on making a decision about postponement. No one knew how fast this thing would move, so they chose to be optimistic. The IOC's hand was forced when nations started to pull out, but they knew there was only one decision that could be made. They just had to dot all the i's and cross all the t's before they could announce it.
It was the right decision. There's no way the world would've been ready for an Olympics two months from now. Not with some countries still in lockdown and others just starting to come out. And the questions still persist whether or not next summer is even possible, which is why Bach had to provide that clarity.
What Bach said, though, is that the IOC needs to prepare for a number of different scenarios for next year. Cancellation is just one of those scenarios. But it's also the last resort. Not the headline. (Yes, "Olympics cancelled" is better click-bait. I get it! But it's wrong and misleading.)
Likewise, Yoshitake Yokokura, the President of the Japan Medical Association, was speaking out of turn last month when he suggested it would be hard to host the Games without a vaccine. I'm not sure if Yokokura was simply stating his opinion (I think he probably was), but he shouldn't be speaking on the record unless he has an official role with the Tokyo Games, which it doesn't sound like he does. Even as a government official, it's not his place to speak for the Prime Minister, Tokyo's local government, or anyone associated with the organizing committee.
No one actually involved with the Games has said that they're contingent on there being a vaccine. That may end up being the case, but it's also possible that it'll be determined safe enough for athletes and fans to travel to Japan without one. The IOC will rely on advice from the World Health Organization. If they think it's too big of a risk, the IOC will take appropriate action, whatever that may be.
Yes, cancellation is one scenario that they're considering. One of many. Will the athletes and anyone else traveling to Tokyo for the Games have to be quarantined as soon as they enter Japan? Will they be restricted to the Olympic Village and their competition/training venues so as not to catch/spread the virus? How will venue capacities have to be adjusted to allow for spectators while maintaining social distancing? (Bach has already ruled out holding the events without fans, a decision I agree with.) And what if there IS a vaccine, rendering all of these plans moot? That, of course, is the best option.
Cancellation, obviously, is the worst-case scenario. They have to acknowledge the possibility and consider it, but it should be avoided at all costs. However, delaying again beyond next summer is both unrealistic and impractical. There would be way too much of a trickle-down effect. Enough havoc has already been caused with international federations having to move their 2021 World Championships to 2022 while still avoiding the Commonwealth Games (and not to mention the fact that there are already a Winter Olympics and Youth Olympics scheduled for 2022).
If the global health situation hasn't improved enough for the Olympics to be held safely next summer in Tokyo, they'll have no choice but to cancel. It's way too early to even speculate about them having to make that call, though. If they do, however, get ready for the Tokyo 2032 Olympics. Immediately giving the 2032 Games to Tokyo would be the only fair solution. Because they've already invested too much to not be given the hosting opportunity they've earned.
No comments:
Post a Comment