Tokyo Olympics ... [no foreign fans] [no fans period]

[CookyMonzta]

The composer for the opening ceremonies has quit. His bully past has come back to bite him (and the Games) in the ass...

https://www.newser.com/story/308748/...tainment_img_b

This is going to be a fiasco of the highest order if they don't move it to September and make vaccinations top priority in the city during the 6-to-8-week interim.

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile....what an idiot....if the Olympics get canceled it will because of nonsense like this.

Indy runner Cole Hocker heading to Tokyo unvaccinated as Olympics grapples with COVID-19

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/07/19/tokyo-olympics-usa-runner-cole-hocker-among-unvaccinated-athletes-covid-19-coronavirus/8020273002/

[gh]

meanwhile, at the airport...

Unprepared Olympic arrivals exacerbate airport confusion

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399314

[Conor Dary]

Turning into a fiasco...

[NotDutra5]

Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chief won't rule out last-minute cancellation of Olympics

The chief of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee on Tuesday did not rule out a last-minute cancellation of the Olympics, as more athletes tested positive for COVID-19 and major sponsors ditched plans to attend Friday's opening ceremony.

Asked at a news conference whether the global sporting showpiece might still be canceled, Toshiro Muto said he would keep an eye on infection numbers and liaise with other organizers if necessary.

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/...ummer-olympics

I think the power of NBC will force the issue. That is....maybe....unless Simone Biles is knocked out by the virus. Then the network would have 8 days of non Biles material they'd need to come up with.

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile...

Tokyo Olympics report 9 new COVID cases as games near

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics said Tuesday that an athlete at the athletes' village and eight other people related to the games have newly tested positive for the coronavirus, amid increasing skepticism over whether they can be held without risking the health of participants and the Japanese public.

In addition to the athlete, who is a Czech beach volleyball player, the tally included a volunteer for the first time since the committee started compiling figures on July 1, bringing the total number of games-related infections to 67, three days out from the opening ceremony.

While the organizers have pledged to ensure the safety of the games during the pandemic and at a time when Tokyo is under a COVID-19 state of emergency, cases of infection have been reported since athletes and officials have started to arrive en masse earlier this month.

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the committee, said at a press conference she has noticed that support for the games has dropped in Japan in the days leading up to the opening, because the organizers have not been able to keep fresh cases at zero even though they have put in place anti-virus measures.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/c0827fda9437-urgent-foreign-athlete-in-village-among-9-new-olympic-covid-cases-reported.html

[Conor Dary]

The 2021 Olympics Are Turning Into a $20 Billion Bust for Japan

Host nation expected an economic windfall and global recognition. But amid pandemic, a disgruntled populace just wants it all to go away.


When Toyota Motor Corp. said this week it wouldn’t run any ads in Japan tied to the Olympics, it sent a message louder than any TV commercial about the host nation’s grim mood.

Toyota is Japan’s most valuable company and a global Olympics sponsor, the top rank shared by only 13 others world-wide. For U.S. audiences, it spent millions of dollars on a Super Bowl commercial featuring the Olympic rings. But in Japan, any link to the Games was too sensitive for the auto maker to advertise.

The Olympics open on Friday a year late and during a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo. Anticipation and expectations for an economic windfall have largely evaporated. Stadiums and arenas that cost over $7 billion to build or renovate for the Games will be mostly empty after spectators were banned.

Japan wanted the Tokyo Olympics to show the country is still a global force despite its declining population and a maturing economy eclipsed by China. The Games would also show how Japan rebounded from a devastating tsunami in 2011. Instead, the Olympics has compounded a malaise over the pandemic that has put its leader under pressure to keep his job.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-2021-olympics-are-turning-into-a-20-billion-bust-for-japan-11626790720

[KevinR]

At this point, I do not see any good ending to this story. No matter what actions are taken, unless the games are completed without any more significant positive tests (and that is a BIG IF), the reputation of the Games themselves, are likely to be sullied. Even cutting their losses and calling it quits at this point will not help much, although might be the least objectionable tack.

I fear that the Games will begin as scheduled, and turn into an enormous cluster-#(&%, resulting in chaos. I pray that I am wrong.

[gm]

There are still crowds at other sporting events in Japan. They can't be too worried.

[guru]

There are still crowds at other sporting events in Japan. They can't be too worried.

Exactly. And you're not the first to notice.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1110412/athletes-why-fans-banned-tokyo-2020?fbclid=IwAR3pADukxNHuhXnbgMRbZBeLASE6DZxeZhl-tR5BKGcET2Znj1k2nSfufTM

[scottmitchell74]

There are still crowds at other sporting events in Japan. They can't be too worried.

I'm not sure why this isn't a bigger issue. How are the Japanese explaining this?

[NotDutra5]

I've been wondering about that myself.

[gh]

I'm guessing that "everybody" at a baseball game (be it player or fan) has been inside Japan's generally tight bubble for weeks/months; the vast majority of Olympic athletes will have recently flown in from out of country

[lexvid]

I'll say this. They should have made vaccinations mandatory for Olympic athletes 3-4 months ago. I understand some countries may not have had access as easily as others but there was enough time to give everyone who aspired to make teams their doses.

I'm sure this is an unpopular stance to some but the worst case scenario is playing out before our eyes from a political and health perspective. Apologies if this has been mentioned before.

[scottmitchell74]

I think Japan dropped the ball big time. They knew they had the Olympics all along. I'm not sure why they waited so long to get their vaccination program rolling. They should have dropped the Olympics totally long ago or gotten on board with vaccines. The USA has pockets of hold outs, but despite being held up against Japan a year ago as a failure, and Japan as a success, it seems the tables have turned (probably more than) a bit. Obviously the US has a ways to go, but Japan is woefully behind...knowing all along they were hosting a World event.
Now they're acting like the world is bullying them?