At Tuesday morning, it was half past seven in Tokyo, the Australian softball players had arrived. The organizers cheered the first Olympic participants in Japan. Olympia cannot be stopped. On Wednesday the organizing committee counted. The days until the planned opening on July 23: 51.
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And the number of volunteers who are no longer interested in these Olympic and Paralympic Games. Around 10,000 have dropped out so far, said the managing director of the organizing committee, Toshiro Muto. No major problem for him, Muto suggested that some of the remaining 70,000 helpers could be on duty at both events. Muto’s message: Olympia cannot be stopped.
This also sums up what OC boss Seiko Hashimoto announced on Thursday under the heading that the Japanese had “moved away” from the unconditional event. Hashimoto had said in Tokyo that she was “100 percent” convinced that the event would be held, but if a majority of the countries did not send athletes, the Olympics could not take place.
A few signatures are missing
The former speed skater and track cyclist made an interesting curl in which she suggested to Japan, where most citizens are against a staging in this pandemic summer, where the Tokyo doctors’ association is calling for it to be canceled, suggesting that there is still something like a possibility. After all, it is not to be expected that a significant number of national Olympic committees (NOK) will forego the trip, the transmission of which and, above all, television broadcasting would open the locks.
The Olympic family is coming. It is your billions who are in the fire if you cancel. The economist Andrew Zimbalist told the AP news agency this week that he estimated a cancellation would cost between three and a half to four billion dollars, with an insured amount of between 400 million and 800 million. Olympia must take place.
A few more signatures are missing, especially those of the athletes. Without them, the event will be difficult. But please at your own risk. Under point 4 of the conditions of participation for NOK delegation members it says: “I agree that I take part in the games at my own risk and responsibility, including any impact on my participation in the competition (…), severe physical injury or even death caused by the potential impact of health hazards such as the transmission of Covid-19 or other infectious diseases or by extreme heat (…). “
Those who do not sign do not take part. That was also the case in previous games, but neither in the clauses for Rio de Janeiro 2016 nor in Pyeongchang 2018 was there any danger of death, nor was there any mention of serious physical injuries – although these are always in the room in sport. For this reason alone, the small print of the pandemic games in Tokyo reinforces the impression that neither place nor time actually fit and the organizers know that.
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