No spectators at Olympics

Tokyo Olympics 2021 will take place without spectators, as the new Covid wave forces a state of emergency to be declared in the city. The emergency will remain through the Games(July 23 - August 8). Neighbouring cities of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba will not be having spectators at the events hosted there. “It is regrettable that we are delivering the Games in a very limited format, facing the spread of coronavirus infections,” Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said, “I am sorry for those who purchased tickets.”

Until last week officials were maintaining that the Games could be held with a few fans. But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that is is essential to protect Tokyo from the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 variant.

The thousands of athletes and officials already pose a great threat to the safety and hosting spectators at the Olympics would dangerously flare infections, and potentially spread to the rest of the country. With the slow vaccine rollout in Japan, the safest way to hold the Games is to have it without spectators. While Japan has been spared from huge Covid outbreaks, the state of emergency was declared when Tokyo reported 896 new daily infections on Thursday, reaching the highs seen in mid-May. “New daily cases in the capital could increase to 1,000 in July and 2,000 in August, raising the risk of hospitals in the capital region running out of beds, according to projections from Yuki Furuse, a Kyoto University professor working with the government’s coronavirus experts group,” reports Reuters. At events such as the triathlon, the public will be asked not to gather at the roads, although some venues outside the greater Tokyo metropolitan area might be able to host a few spectators. The Olympics budget is estimated to be about $15.4 billion, and ticket revenues of about $815 million (excluding other forms of spectator revenue) will be more null. After the natural and nuclear disaster aid the past decade in Japan, hosting the Olympic Games was a symbol of hope and an opportunity to excel on a global level. The pandemic caused the event to be postponed and even now the promotional events have been called off. The expected rise in tourism, as is usual in host cities, is not present. Yet the insistence to hold the Games (as well as current controversies) has caused further consumer backlash, leaving organisers and sponsors frustrated. Japan will be holding their parliamentary elections this year and postponing the Games a second time would certainly affect the results. Amidst all these setbacks, is holding the Olympics really the best decision?

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