Tokyo is still in a lockdown.
It has not been a good week for the International Olympic Committee and for the organizers of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. COVID-19 continues to be a major problem, so much so that the IOC’s President Thomas Bach called off a trip to Japan to promote the Games which is scheduled to start on July 23rd. Then there was an online crasher who somehow got into an online news conference who reminded the IOC just how unpopular their business really is. The protestor from a group called NOlympicsLA told IOC members in no uncertain terms that the group is not wanted anywhere. To a certain extent the protestor was correct. The IOC had a very tough time finding hosts for the 2024, 2026 and 2028 Olympics and now the group is not even bothering to put the event up for bidding. The IOC is looking for interested countries who appreciate the money losing event and is honing in on Queensland, Australia for the 2032 Summer Olympics. The 2030 Winter Olympics has drawn interest from Salt Lake City, Utah backers and from a group in Sapporo, Japan.
The major problem at hand for the IOC is the COVID-19 pandemic and an illness that the group cannot control. Japan is in a lockdown until May 31st. There is a new poll which suggests that about three fifths of the country’s residents think the Games must not go on because of the pandemic. Japan is also going to take a massive financial hit in the range of billions of dollars or yen whether the event takes place or not. Still, the IOC is taking a blind eye to everything going on. John Coates, the IOC’s vice-president, said he could not foresee any scenario under which the event would not go ahead. COVID-19 can lockdown a country but not an Olympics.
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