Canadian athletes will not compete at Tokyo 2020 Games due to Covid-19 risks
cbc.caAnd with the UK signalling that they were about to drop out as well.... we are now postponed for a year.
It seems at this point the games will be held in 2021, this seems mostly like a symbolic decision.
They're trying to force an official decision about postponement.
At the moment the IOC and Japan are at a stalemate because neither want to be responsible for paying for the result of a cancellation.
Canada stepping up to the plate is important because hopefully it encourages other countries to follow suit.
It's unbelievable to me it hasn't already been postponed. I expected it weeks ago, along with the postponement of Euro 2020.
Nobody in their right mind should even be remotely considering holding a major global event this year.
For Japan PM Abe Olympic Games 2020 is the point of honor - he does not care if people will die. That's why Japan puts obstacles to coronavirus testing.
It is a long and convoluted story. 1964 Tokyo Olympics - organized by Abe's grandfather - then Japan PM (yes, Japan is democracy but political establishment is hereditary) - are seen as a start of Japan's economic miracle.
https://www.ft.com/content/d6142984-194b-11e3-83b9-00144feab...
https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/09/05/the-1964-toky...
Although I am far from an Abe fan, I honestly don't think this is it. I think what he is doing is casting doubt on whether or not the Olympics will go ahead. This will slow down the rate at which cancellations in hotel accommodations will happen. I think the idea is probably to cushion the shock to the economy. He'll probably cast doubt as long as he feasibly can and then announce a postponement.
Same
It is already a fantasy when the virus outbreak outside China like late Feb.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/olympics-canada-australia-wi...
Australia is distancing itself as well. I don't expect it will take long before others join in.
I can understand why the IOC (and perhaps Japan) are delaying the decision. But the Canadians are probably right, and their lead will be followed.
Can't see many countries risking their top athletes right now, anyway.
Even the opening ceremony would be a massive risk according to what's currently known.
A lot can happen in 4 weeks, but the changes that need to take place in time for the Olympics (Vaccine? Effective treatment? Scalable testing and containment?) appear to be a long way off.
And what happens if the IOC end up needing to ban certain countries still fighting the issue?
I don't understand why they don't just cut back on the number of events. Or the number of athletes/personnel allowed per country.
If the world can't get together for one global event then we are really fucked.
It would be pretty important if we could pull this off.
Part I suspect is the money in winning and how some countries won't be at 100% vs let's prove as humans we can achieve something as a global community in a crisis.
There can't be in person spectators and there will be isolations either side.
But we can do it.
Maybe athletes don't want to risk their lives for a grand gesture?
We can achieve something. Just not this.
I imagine it's less about the athletes than the spectators. Or at least I hope so, since the Olympics is best watched in groups.
You can't have competitive sports during a pandemic, full stop. It's not a question of will, it's a question of basic public health, and putting a few brain cells together. Athletes will not compete in PPE...
> There can't be in person spectators
Olympic games are 20% for sport and 80% for the money brought by spectators/tourists. The host country spends billions in local infrastructures (stadiums, hotels, roads, &c.) it would make no sense to have the competitions without in person spectators.