For the fourth time in history, the Olympics have been postponed. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers have another year to prepare and make modifications for the athletes’ safety and health. Surely, things are bound to be different. So, what will an altered version of the Olympics look like?
The Diplomat reports that in an effort to cut costs, a simplified version of the games will take place. Typical red carpet treatment will be scaled back, a reduction of representatives from each country will take effect, the welcoming ceremonies for each individual team will be canceled and the excessive Olympic Village decorations will also be scaled back.
According to a University of Oxford study, next year’s Olympics prove to be the most expensive Olympic games in history since the postponement cost the Olympics’ organizing committee several hundred billion yen.
Before the pandemic, the Olympics had only ever been canceled because of war.
According to NPR, Olympic Committee officials have stressed that the games will proceed regardless of the state of the global pandemic, whether or not a vaccine would be made available in time. Having the games postponed for a second time has been completely ruled out.
BBC reports that the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee, Dick Pound, spoke out saying that the games would be cancelled rather than postponed again if it came down to it.
The Diplomat reports that with more than 11,000 athletes from 206 countries, the Olympic Village will be a base for some 30,000 people. The games have to find a way to balance athlete and public safety, whilst keeping costs down to make up for the losses incurred by postponing the games this year. Specific details around different scenarios are still being finalized, such as adjustments being made to the immigration protocols, in case Japan’s border remains closed to tourists.
BBC further reports that Tokyo 2020 chief executive, Toshiro Muto, said that they wanted to avoid the possibility of having no spectators at all and that it was possible that the Olympics would be held to a “limited” audience.
Not everyone is happy about the idea of the games still taking place. A survey from Kyodo News found that fewer than one in four people in Japan reportedly want the Tokyo Olympics to continue as scheduled, with more than a third of the people believing the games should be postponed once again. Another third said that they want the games canceled altogether.
According to BBC, John Coates, a member of the Australian Olympic Committee, as well as the International Olympic committee, confirmed that the Olympics would start on July 23, 2021, calling them the “Games that conquered COVID-19.”
