In the end, the Japanese people got what they wanted. Even with foreign spectators banned months ago, public health officials and the Japanese public at large was still worried about the Olympics being a super spreader event and insisted that if the Games were going ahead (which they eventually realized was going to happen), the "safest" way would be to hold them behind closed doors. Now, with the state of emergency in the Tokyo area extended until mid-August, that's exactly what will happen.
Olympic officials and Tokyo organizers were still holding out hope that they'd be able to have at least a limited attendance, while knowing that the no fans at all option was a last resort. Things changed quickly, too. It went from 50 percent capacity to a maximum of 5,000 to no one at events that end after 9 p.m. within a matter of weeks. Then the state of emergency was extended, making the last resort a reality. Which probably left the medical people (many of whom didn't want the Olympics to happen at all) breathing a sigh of relief.
There's a lot to unpack here, starting with some obvious questions. Their fear was about all of the people from all over the world, who may or may not be vaccinated, coming into Japan. But, once foreign spectators were banned, the only people coming into Japan would be those associated with the Olympics in some way...and a majority of them will be vaccinated. Plus, they're being kept in a bubble-like environment, with little to contact with anyone outside the bubble. So, was the concern that the athletes would give COVID to the Japanese people or that they'd get COVID from the Japanese people?
Likewise, why is Japan's vaccination rate so bad? Vaccines have been available since December. A number of countries are doing a great job with vaccinations, including the United States and a good part of Europe. Yet Japan is lagging behind. How come?
The ironic thing is that this is the exact opposite situation as it was early in the pandemic. While the U.S. and Europe were still in lockdowns and holding sporting events in empty arenas, the Asian nations seemingly had a hold on the virus and were reopening their economies. Now, it's the U.S. and Europe where things are getting back to normal while in Japan it's surging.
It's also another cruelly unfair blow to the Tokyo organizers, who, by all accounts, were among the best-prepared Olympic hosts in history. That preparation has definitely been tested with a one-year delay, scores of virus counter-measures and, now, no fans in the stands. Their budget has already become even more massive because of all those extra costs...costs that they won't be able to recoup with ticket revenue!
Simply put, Tokyo can't just be looped in with Sochi and Montreal, which critics will inevitably do. Some of the cost overruns were their fault (the National Stadium being the obvious example). But, what's happened over the past 18 months was entirely unforeseen, so they can't be blamed for them! If anything, they should be applauded for being willing to take on those costs when they knew there was a possibility they wouldn't make any of it back in ticket sales.
You've gotta feel for the athletes, too. This is NOT the Olympic experience they signed up for! They work their entire lives to qualify for the Olympics, to mingle with athletes from all corners of the globe in all different sports, to walk out into the stadium behind their national flag with 75,000 people screaming for them, to watch their teammates in other sports and explore the host city. They'll get to do none of that!
Although, if the athletes have shown us anything over the past 18 months, it's that they're resilient. We saw all those photos and videos of their improvised pandemic training. Some athletes had COVID themselves, yet found a way to train through it and get back into Olympic shape. All this while also having to adjust mentally, taking the disappointment of 2020 and readjusting their focus to 2021. None of which could've been easy.
They've also shown that they can still perform in empty stadiums. When sports returned late last summer, there were no fans anywhere. They've gradually returned at different levels, which has obviously brought back an atmosphere that can't be replicated. However, virtually all of these Olympians had the experience of competing in that quiet in front of nobody. Which will be incredibly beneficial. It's off-putting. And you don't want your first time doing it to be in the biggest competition of your life!
While anyone would obviously take a packed house over empty stands if given the option, the lack of spectators may actually be beneficial to some athletes, too. It may take some of those Olympic nerves away. After all, they don't have fans there when they practice! And some or all of the competition in many Olympic sports (marathon swimming, rowing, canoe/kayak, sailing, road cycling, mountain biking, triathlon) takes place in areas that are hard or impossible for fans to access anyway, so things may not seem that much different for them.
And, unlike those events, which were held in completely empty venues, there will at least be some live people at the Olympics. How many remains to be seen. But VIPs and officials will still be allowed to attend. So will the media (although far fewer than they'd otherwise see). And, of course, their coaches and teammates (nothing's been said about non-competing athletes being allowed to attend other sessions in their sport, but I'm assuming it'll be allowed). Is that the same? No! But at least it won't be silent.
As we've seen over the past 18 months, if everyone's committed to it, the bubble concept can work. It's been used effectively all over the world in all different sports. And, if the only two options on the table are a behind-closed-doors Olympics in a bubble or no Olympics at all, I think everyone would choose the former.
Not holding the Olympics as (re)scheduled this year was never an option. The IOC generates way too much of its revenue from TV rights. And the Olympics are a made-for-TV event in most of the world anyway, so while not having spectators isn't ideal, it wasn't a deal breaker either. Especially not when we've seen how well a made-for-TV major sporting event can be pulled off.
Of course, they went into those events knowing they would be in empty stadiums, which allowed them to try different things with camera positions and microphones. Since the call to have no spectators at all was made so late, they may not be able to do as many of those things as they otherwise would've, but you'd still have to think they'll come up with something to make the experience memorable for both the athletes and the worldwide television audience in the billions.
We already knew that these Pandemic Olympics would be unlike any other before. Just add another thing to the list. The Tokyo Olympics: the first to be postponed, the first to take place during a pandemic, now the first to be held without spectators. But the world will still be watching. And the biggest TV event of the year just became that much bigger.
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