There is a lot of buzz connected to this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games and much of it hasn’t been positive.
It was in March of 2020 that the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed until this (2021) summer.
Within the last week, Extra Inning Softball has heard from a number of sources that the Games scheduled to start July 21 with softball kicking off the event are now in jeopardy of being cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers in various sports have been told that, with the Coronavius closing borders and/or limiting travel in some countries, many are expecting Japan to be forced to call off the Games once again.
The London Times on Thursday printed a piece titled Japan looks for a way out of Tokyo Olympics because of Covid echoing that thought.
The lead photo caption read:
“Japan postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics for 12 months. The official stance at the moment is that all is being done to save them but behind the scenes opinions are shifting.”
The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032 https://t.co/bsuB9wMt30
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) January 21, 2021
The article further stated:
“The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032.”
“According to a senior member of the ruling coalition, there is agreement that the Games, already postponed a year, are doomed. The aim now is to find a face-saving way of announcing the cancellation that leaves open the possibility of Tokyo playing host at a later date.
“No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” the source said. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and President Thomas Bach were quick to push back and refuted the Times story.
In an Associated Press (AP) story written by Stephen Wade and titled Amid cancellation talk, Tokyo Olympics `focused on hosting’ that was posted later Thursday night, the IOC issued a statement saying the Tokyo Games were moving forward with the support of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
“All our delivery partners including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC and the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) are fully focused on hosting the games this summer,” the IOC statement read.
“We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure games.”
Click HERE to read the Extra Inning Softball article Softball Training Camps Starting for Tokyo Olympic Games published Jan 16, 2021.
According to the AP article, Tokyo has already spent about $25 billion to organize these Olympics, most of which is public money.
Several reports of a cancellation began to surface this month when the Japanese government put Tokyo and other prefectures under a state of emergency order to counter a surge of rising COVID-19 cases.
“We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo,” Bach told the Japanese news agency Kyodo on Thursday. He also said there is “no Plan B.”
Senior IOC member Richard Pound said earlier in the week that the Olympics may be held largely without fans, making it a mostly television event.
According to Wade in the AP story: “The Switzerland-based IOC gets 73% of its income from selling broadcast rights and has seen its main revenue source stalled by the Olympic postponement. A largely TV-only event would suit the IOC better than a cancellation.”
“Unlike other sports businesses that offer hundreds of games, the IOC has only two main events to sell — the Summer and Winter Olympics.”
The Tokyo Olympic Games are expected to include 11,000 athletes along with “tens of thousands more including coaches, officials, judges, VIPS, media and broadcasters.”
“You may not like it but sacrifices will be needed, “ Bach said. “This is why I’m saying, safety first, and no taboo in the discussion to ensure safety.”
Japan has reported fewer than 5,000 deaths from the coronavirus and has handled the virus better than most countries. But the surge is not tapering off in Tokyo, a sprawling metropolitan area of 35 million.
Public opinion in Japan has also turned against the games with 80% in several polls saying they should be postponed again or canceled.
That may indeed be the case and, for softball fans, that would mean the earliest Team USA could once again play under the Olympic spotlight would possibly be 2028 at the Los Angeles Games, although it’s not been voted on yet (inclusion of baseball/softball).
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games have already ruled out baseball and softball participation.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
