Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Tokyo’s doomed Olympics could be the worst yet

(Getty images)

The Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics, which begins on Friday, looks set to be one of the worst in the event’s history. A book detailing all the scandals and mishaps of the games would be longer then the Tales of Genji. 

Won way back in 2013, it wasn’t long before allegations of suspicious payments materialised. Since then there have been: massive cost overruns, cock-ups with venues (the Olympic stadium was built without a crucible!), multiple gaffes and resignations from the principals, the relocation of the marathon, plus, of course, the one-year postponement and endless uncertainty wrought by the pandemic.

The games will open under a dark cloud of public discontent. Polls have consistently shown a preference for either another postponement or outright cancellation (as many as 80 per cent in one survey). A measure of the unpopularity is summed up in reports that the government has contingency plans to deal with violent anti-games protests. The groups that form at Shinjuku station calling for people to ‘smash the opening ceremony’ and ‘overthrow the Suga administration’, do look serious, but, thankfully, the nastiest episode so far has been a woman firing a water pistol at a torchbearer. But this is Japan remember, so that counted as a major incident. The torch relay was taken off-road (i.e. hidden) for ‘safety reasons’.

So blighted have the Olympics been that some believe the games are not just figuratively but literally, cursed

The ‘Cancel the Olympics’ movement has widespread support. As well as those who just think it’s all a colossal bore, there are the tax payers, aware of the steep hikes coming soon to pay it off; those traumatised by Covid, convinced that admitting 11,000 athletes from around the world will lead to soaring infections (there was even talk of an ‘Olympic variant’); and their allies, the doctors and nurses, who resent being conscripted to deal exclusively with visiting athletes and dignitaries.

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