Tokyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when it was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago. “The certainty was a crucial factor,” Craig Reedie, an IOC vice-president at the time, said after the 2013 vote in Buenos Aires. Now, nothing is certain as Tokyo’s postponed Olympics hit the 100-days-to-go mark on Wednesday. […]
What does Tokyo get out of the 17-day sports circus?
Fans from abroad are banned, tourism is out, and there ll be no room for neighborhood partying. Athletes are being told to arrive late, leave early and maneuver around a moving maze of rules.
Credit: AP
FILE - This Dec. 15, 2019, file photo shows the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
There are also reputational costs for Japan and the International Olympic Committee: a bribery scandal, botched planning, and repeated misogyny in the Tokyo Olympic leadership.
The IOC is betting Tokyo will be a distraction “the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel” as the closing ceremony comes just six months before the opening of the boycott-threatened Beijing Winter Olympics.
FILE - In this March 3, 2020, file photo, the New National Stadium, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is seen from Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Photo: Associated Press
By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer
TOKYO (AP) â Tokyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when it was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago.
“The certainty was a crucial factor,” Craig Reedie, an IOC vice president at the time, said after the 2013 vote in Buenos Aires.
TOKYO (AP) Tokyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when it was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago.
“The certainty was a crucial factor,” Craig Reedie, an IOC vice president at the time, said after the 2013 vote in Buenos Aires.
Now, nothing is certain as Tokyo’s postponed Olympics hit the 100-days-to-go mark on Wednesday. Despite surging cases of COVID-19, myriad scandals and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the Games, organizers and the IOC are pushing on.
FILE – In this March 3, 2020, file photo, the New National Stadium, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is seen from Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)