Are the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Worth It To The Greater Good?

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo has certainly seen some backlash, and understandably so. There are already over 70 confirmed cases within the athletes, and Japan has seen the most COVID cases per day in the last couple weeks than they have since January of 2021. COVID cases are on the rise again in Japan, and there seems to be a correlation with the Olympics. The CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stated early this week that it’s not impossible that the Olympics are cancelled, especially since the cases are surging again. In a way, this is putting the people of Tokyo in a scary situation. If the Olympics are delayed once again, it might be that they are cancelled, and the next Summer Olympics will take place in 2024. The Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to start in 2022, and it would be unlikely that the Olympics would want back to back events.

Japan has created strict mandates as an effort to protect the country as possible. ESPN states, “Much of the country entered its fourth COVID-19 state of emergency earlier this month after a spike in cases, and the restrictions will last through the entirety of the Games. Restaurants must close by 8 p.m., alcohol sales are prohibited, and citizens are encouraged to stay home whenever possible. Spectators will not be allowed at any events in Tokyo and many other venues. With a vaccination rate below 20 percent due to rollout delays and low supply, Japan’s vaccine rollout has been one of the slowest among wealthy nations.” Japan is making efforts to keep the games going, but are doing their best to keep as many people safe as possible. The Olympics created a bubble, similar to the 2020 NBA bubble, to keep transmissions to a minimum, but the bubble isn’t being highly respected and many people are “breaking” the bubble.

A Tokyo actress and musician that has worked with ESPN as a translator tells ESPN, “Can you believe this? They’re doing this, and everyone is against it. Why are they doing this?” A large reason is money. ESPN states, “The IOC (International Olympic Committee) depends on television contracts for 75% of its revenue.” The other 25% most likely consists of ticket sales to the events, merchandise, and concessions inside the arenas, and since they are not allowing fans at the events, that is already a lot of money lost.

ESPN had a conversation with Ryan Yamazaki, a director working on the official Olympic film, and she states, “the Olympics are a clear thing to be opposed to. In April there was a famous public poll where 80% said they did not want the Olympics to happen. Now with the state of emergency, no crowds and another wave, people are wondering: What’s the point of this?” Especially considering Japan is only about 20% vaccinated, there is a lot of backlash of putting the games above their own people. The people in Japan are clearly confused and disappointed with the effort to push to allow athletes from all over the world come, but are restricting their own citizens much more.

Even the medal ceremonies will be much different from previous Olympics. ESPN states, “IOC President Thomas Bach announced that medalists, standing on podiums in empty venues, will have to place their own medals over their own necks after they are presented on sanitized trays held by gloved and sanitized volunteers. Hand-shaking and hugging is not allowed during medal ceremonies.” This is not life changing to the athletes and another effort from the IOC to protect as many people as possible, but it may take some honor away from placing in the top three in their event; however, it’s not a game changing decision, and shows that it has been thoroughly pondered to keep safety as priority.

Usually during the Olympics, the economy of the home country usually sees a bump in their economy because of the attraction the games bring to the country. Places like local shops and restaurants see more traffic which leads to increased revenue, but that won’t be the case this year. ESPN states, “Athletes and media will be sequestered, allowed to travel only between village and venue, meaning restaurants and other businesses won’t even receive an economic bump from the Games.” This is not surprising given the amount of precautions that Japan and the IOC are taking to keep people as safe as possible. But, it does take a toll on the economic benefit that the Olympics usually bring to the hosting country.

The Olympics are facing severe backlash from Japan residents, and most of them think the Olympics is a poor idea. They’re sacrificing their own health for economic benefit and that’s not fair. ESPN states, “The Japanese people have sacrificed for the greater good, and now they feel they’ve been left unprotected by a government that is being influenced by the financial interests of outside entities.” If this backlash keeps rising as well as cases, don’t think it’s unlikely that the Olympics are canceled.