Tokyo Olympic flame left flickering as virulent ill wind gathers pace - MW

It was a scene that could be directed by Cecil B DeMille. On the quietest Thursday morning in Olympia, on the website of the Ancient Olympics in Greece, a woman dressed in traditional clothing asked the gods for divine silence. She then bowed her head and used the sun's rays to light the Olympic flame for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The ceremony at Hera Temple, conducted before each Olympics, marks the beginning of the relay. But whether the fire will reach its final destination, the Tokyo National Stadium, on July 24 is increasingly suspect.

Until now the message from the International Olympic Committee has been clear: the program will continue. As the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, said: We are fully in line with the Japanese host in our commitment to providing a safe Olympic Games in July this year. There are no plans yet.

But Bach is swimming more and more against a violent tide. Sport after sport is locked. The government restricts large gatherings. And never in our life has a virus like Covid-19.

Gunmen on the desirability of hosting the Olympics are also opening their doors in Japan, where Shigeru Ishiba, a senior official believed to be the successor of Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister, has warned the government to prepare for a worse scenario. Organizing committee member Haruyuki Takahashi suggested that a delay of one or two years would be the most viable way to ensure the survival of the Games, adding that a decision would be made at the end. April.

To many, it seems absurd that the Olympic Games are taking place in today's environment. However, Michael Payne, former IOC senior marketing director, said that with the Olympics 19 weeks ago, there was no need to make a quick decision. In other words, it is too early to assume that the Olympics will be canceled due to today's panic, he said. The next few weeks will be difficult. And I am not reducing the severity of the virus. But for two months, the timing of the situation could be very different, in particular Japan and China seem to have overcome the worst.

Payne, who has worked for nearly two decades in the Olympic movement and helped negotiate a £ 1 billion IOC agreement with Chinese company Alibaba, said there were often problems before the Games can take place alone. solve.

In November 2017, when Kim Jong-un and President Trump went there, many wondered if the IOC should send athletes to places that look like the most dangerous spots on the planet, he said. . . However, three months after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics went smoothly.

In 2016, there were concerns about the Zika virus and problems with the organizers before Rio. In the three years leading up to the Athens Olympics, there have been discussions about what it would leave because the Greek government had its head in the sand.

"The IOC is used to deal with such large decisions and has a team of highly qualified experts who will weigh the risks, speak with health professionals and make the right choice. propriety.

However, another senior figure, who helped run the 2012 London Olympics, believes the Olympics will be difficult to keep going. The IOC and the Japanese government made a very difficult decision, he said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. For example, the Japanese health care system will deal with perhaps a million fans will appear, some might come from countries where the virus is at its peak? Or what happens if an athlete gets it in the Olympics? Remember that most rooms in the Olympic Village have two to four athletes in it so that it can spread easily.

In London there were contingency plans for all potential incidents - including a chemical attack, fake bombs and a high-ranking death of a royal member that would mean switching to cover Other TV channels. However, sources warn that a pandemic presents more difficult challenges to overcome.

If you are looking at the groups of people you need for active play, which include athletes, officials, volunteers, fans and the media, speak in a competent voice. And for all these groups - who will come from all over the world - this virus is not racist. The emergency rescue plan therefore returns to the center of the Olympic Games and the first major decision that the IOC must take is that the Olympic Games can take place without any group is this number. I think that is impossible.

Some athletes have started to worry about how they would qualify for the Olympics, many tournaments have been canceled, rescheduled or moved to new venues. The strange sight of the 300 elite athletes and wheelchair athletes participating in this month's marathon should also make the most optimistic Japanese officials think. Plans for the Olympic flame tour through Greece have been canceled, and restrictions on the public were almost certainly applicable when the fire started its journey through Japan's 47 districts six days later, from Fukushima .

Nick Varley, who has worked with four successful offers, including Tokyo, believes the Olympics will continue. However, he predicted that if delayed, it would take a year, not a few months. It is unfair to ask athletes to try to reach the summit in July and then tell them to retire and wait until October, he said.

Remember that most of them are not stars but amateurs who are shortening time from other careers. Another thing to keep in mind is that the US NBC network that won wants the Olympics to be held at the same time as the start of the NFL or NBA seasons. So while I still expect the Olympics to continue, I think every delay will take place for 12 months.

Another source warned that rescheduling an Olympics would not necessarily be simple. The games were effectively organized before seven years. In London, we started booking hotel rooms very soon after winning the bid. Delaying the Olympics is quite difficult.

Another thing is don't forget the Paralympics. You have some people who are more vulnerable to competition and, in theory, this is the fourth largest sporting event in the world.

On Saturday, it was left to the Japanese Olympic Minister, Seiko Hashimoto, to repeat the official stream - that the event cost at least $ 12 billion to prepare and attract more than 3 Billions of dollars in domestic funding, will not be delayed.

MW