Potential for cancellation of Tokyo 2020

[Judy]

Usually, people make fun of the outfits when they are announced but then they are fine during the actual Olympics when worn by real people and not models posing. I don't think that is going to happen with the Canadian ones though.

 

[Judy]

USA, Canada Join To Mock Their Respective Olympics Uniforms | The Mary Sue

The Tokyo Olympics teams have unveiled their closing ceremony uniforms, with USA and Canada mocking theirs on Twitter.

www.themarysue.com

It's all a bit of fun, some social media reactions in that link above .

Too funny. I saw some more natural pics of the outfits and maybe they will grow on me. Oh and as for the Calgary Olympics outfits .. well it was the 80’s and it is Calgary . The Americans better not spill any coffee or food on all that white (I would).

 

[Lemonade20]

Who the heck designed them? How embarrassing!

 

[skatingguy]

I'm concerned about the Japanese writing on the sleeve - what do they think it says & what does it actually say?

 

[Finnice]

The Finnish ones were reliesed, too. Quite ok.

 

[Lara]

I'm concerned about the Japanese writing on the sleeve - what do they think it says & what does it actually say?

Canada. It’s safe.

As for the uniform itself, I’m going to have to follow the “if you can’t say something nice” rule.

 

[love skating]

When I see the Canadian outfits I just can't help think they would fit in with the 90's group number from the last Stars on Ice tour!

2019 Stars on Ice Autographed Cast Photo

Grab a bit of nostalgia with this year’s official cast photo from the “Pump Up the 90s” group number. This authentic and fully-signed color Stars on Ice photo includes signatures from two-time World Champion Nathan Chen, Olympic Medalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Maia & Alex Shibutani...

store.starsonice.com

 

[Coco]

Hmmm...there is so much up in the air. I don't envy those who have the make the decisions.

Tokyo Olympics could still be canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese officials say

It's also possible that fans may not be permitted to attend any events

www.cbssports.com

Also this:

Fifty-two passengers on Delhi to Hong Kong flight test Covid positive

All of the passengers who tested positive flew into Hong Kong on a flight from India's capital, run by Indian airline Vistara on April 4.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Sylvia]

AP article today: More tests, no quarantine in updated Tokyo Olympic rules

The rollout of the second edition of the “Playbooks” — an IOC guidebook explaining how the games can be pulled off — comes as Tokyo, Osaka and several other areas have been placed under a third state of emergency as coronavirus cases surge.
Japan, which has attributed about 10,000 deaths to COVID-19, has also been slow with local vaccination with about 1% so far getting shots.
Organizers are expected to announce daily testing for athletes. They are also expected to drop a 14-day quarantine requirement, allowing athletes to train when they arrive. Athletes will be required to stay within a “bubble” consisting of the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay, and venues and training areas.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency, citing unnamed sources, said athletes and staff will have to be tested twice within 96 hours before leaving home. They will also be tested upon arrival in Japan.
The Playbook for athletes is to be updated on Wednesday, with Playbooks for media and others unveiled on Friday. The first edition published in February was vague, and there are doubts the latest editions will offer much specificity.
A final edition of all Playbooks will be published in June.

IOC President Thomas Bach last week said his plans to meet the torch relay in Hiroshima on May 17-18 are still not confirmed. Bach’s arrival would be just days after the latest state of emergency ends on May 11.
Opposition lawmakers in Japan’s national legislature have suggested Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga scheduled the state of emergency to accommodate Bach.
The government and the International Olympic Committee have said the precautions are in place specifically for Japan’s “Golden Week” holiday, which begins on Thursday.
The torch relay, which began on March 25 in Fukushima in northeastern Japan, has been detoured several times this month and was forced to run in an empty city park in Osaka. It was also rerouted in Matsuyama City Ehime prefecture.

 

[Lemonade20]

I know they already postponed 2020 Olympics but holy, it's not sounding good at all for 2021.

 

[Sylvia]

Tokyo 2020 chief visits LGBTQ centre to emphasise diversity

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto visited Japan's first permanent LGBTQ centre on Tuesday and emphasised Tokyo Olympic organisers' commitment to facilitating the public's understanding of issues surrounding sexual minorities.

www.reuters.com

Her visit to Pride House Tokyo Legacy, Japan’s first permanent centre for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, follows a series of gaffes by organising committee officials that raised doubts about their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“As the organising committee is gearing up to welcome athletes from all over the world, we would like to deepen our understanding and firmly tackle the issue of unity in diversity,” Hashimoto told centre members. [...]
“We need to take action now so that we can look back later and say the 2020 Tokyo Games were a turning point when it comes to diversity and understanding LGBTQ issues,” Hashimoto said.

 

[Sylvia]

Olympic athletes to get daily COVID-19 tests, face tight restrictions in Tokyo by Lori Ewing of The Canadian Press (April 28): https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics-playbook-april-28-1.6005174
Excerpts:

... increased testing was the biggest takeaway of the "Playbook" for athletes released by organizers on Wednesday.
While shy on some details, and still raising questions around the safety measures meant to protect the 15,000 athletes plus coaches and officials travelling to Tokyo for the Olympics and Paralympics, the increased testing was welcome news to Athletics Canada high performance director Simon Nathan.
"That's a very sensible piece," Nathan said. "It will be a pain and very disruptive on the ground, but in the big picture I definitely feel it's a safer and a tighter plan."
All participants must pass two COVID-19 tests before leaving their home country. They'll be tested upon arrival, and then athletes, and those in close proximity to athletes, will be tested daily.
More frequent testing is beneficial in eliminating false positives and their "knock-on" consequences, Nathan said.

Vaccines remain a huge concern, both in Japan, where only about one per cent of the population has been vaccinated, and for other countries travelling to Tokyo. The IOC has suggested that all national Olympic organizations request vaccination priority for athletes.
Canada's position remains firm — it's team will not cut in line.
"We maintain that Canada's front-line workers and most vulnerable populations should be the priority for vaccinations," David Shoemaker, the CEO and secretary general of the Canadian Olympic Committee, said in a statement. "With the growing numbers of vaccines available to Canadians, we are hopeful that athletes will have access to them prior to Tokyo, which would provide an additional layer of protection to the significant countermeasures that have been put in place."

Muto [CEO of the organizing committee] was asked if another postponement was possible. In the past few weeks, renewed questions about cancellation have also popped up. The IOC long ago ruled out another postponement.
"Can you really take the time for another postponement?" Muto asked rhetorically. "It's not just a matter of taking the time, the organizers would have to prepare once again after having already spent years to prepare. It is not something that can be done that casually."
Muto pointed out the impossibility, if postponed, of securing the athletes' village, which is a massive housing project on Tokyo Bay that has already been partially sold off.

 

[skipaway]

Washington Post Article

On Wednesday, health minister Norihisa Tamura warned Olympic organizers they would have to “secure their own” hospital beds for anyone falling ill at the Games, explaining the government would not release beds set aside for Japanese ****** patients.

 

[Lemonade20]

Washington Post Article

If they had to release this statement, why the heck are they still going ahead with the Olympics?

 

[Coco]

I think they are going ahead with it against local wishes, so some people ain't playin'.

 

[missing]

The New York Times daily Things To Worry About This Morning had as its primary focus today the upcoming Olympics. Since it's an email and not an article, I think it's all right to cut and paste the entire thing:

The Covid Olympics​ ​

Japan has contained Covid-19 far better than most other large countries. But it now faces the challenge of holding the Olympics this summer — and welcoming athletes from around the world — without causing new outbreaks.​

The status of the Games has become a political issue in Japan, with polls showing most residents favoring either postponement or cancellation. Many people are frustrated with how Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in his first year in office, is handling the situation.​

Yet for all of the criticism, it seems possible that Japan will hold a successful Olympics while keeping the virus under control. This morning, I want to walk you through the issue, with help from a couple of charts and from my colleague Motoko Rich, The Times’s Tokyo bureau chief.​

An amazing statistic​ ​

Japan’s Covid response has been so successful that it achieved a remarkable feat: Overall deaths declined in 2020, even as they were surging in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Japan kept its Covid toll low, and its pandemic measures caused a decline in some other fatalities, like those from the flu and vehicle accidents.​

What did Japan do right?​

It already had a culture of mask wearing to prevent illness, and masks became almost ubiquitous early last year. (This article by Motoko, from almost a year ago, compares mask habits in Japan and the U.S.) The government also virtually closed its borders. And it was quick to focus on the settings where the coronavirus was most likely to spread, warning people to avoid the “three C’s” — closed spaces, crowded places and close contact. A lack of vaccine urgency​ ​ This success has led to one problem, however. Japan has been slow to vaccinate its population, with only 2 percent of residents having received a shot. There is less urgency to do so in a country where fewer than 11,000 people have died of Covid.​ Japanese regulators have so far approved only Pfizer’s vaccine and are still evaluating Moderna’s and AstraZeneca’s, despite their obvious success elsewhere. Even if those vaccines are approved soon, the government’s contracts with the vaccine makers do not require the delivery of many doses until late this year, Motoko notes. The country appears to be months away from reaching the vaccination levels of the U.S., Britain, Israel and other world leaders.​ That is worrisome, because Japan has not defeated Covid. Cases have risen over the past two months, and the government declared a state of emergency in several major cities, urging new restrictions on activity. “Japan has recently lost a little control of the caseloads,” Motoko says. “Of course, it’s nothing like New Delhi, but it’s not like Sydney or Taipei, either.” Suga and Olympic organizers insist that the Games will go on, and there are billions of dollars at stake, not only for Japan but also for the Olympic organizers, major sponsors and television networks, including NBC. For athletes who have trained for years, the cancellation of the Games — after their postponement last year — would be deeply disappointing.​ More tests than fans​ ​ The biggest safety measure is the barring of fans from outside Japan. At a typical Olympics, fans make up the great majority of visitors to the host country. By barring them, Japan has restricted entry to athletes, coaches, journalists and Olympics officials, many of whom will probably have been vaccinated. They will all need to take several Covid tests before coming, and athletes will be tested every day during the Olympics, with others being tested less frequently.​ The dangers will also decrease if Japan can meet its goal of vaccinating most residents 65 and older — the people most vulnerable to serious Covid symptoms — by July 23, when the Games begin.​ Even if that happens, though, Japan will not be free of risk. After months of allowing few international visitors, the country will be letting in tens of thousands of people. They will then interact with nearly 80,000 local Olympic volunteers, who will drive athletes and officials around Tokyo, serve as interpreters and do other tasks. A Covid-free Olympics seems unlikely. The question will be whether Japan can quickly identify, isolate and treat people who get the virus.​ In this way, the Games may present a particularly intense version of the balance that many countries will be trying to achieve in 2021 — moving back to normal life while avoiding a new wave of a deadly virus.​

 

[allezfred]

Pfizer is donating vaccines to athletes competing at the Olympics and Paralympics.

Pfizer and BioNTech to donate COVID shots to Olympic athletes

Vaccines to make Tokyo games 'safe and secure for all participants': IOC chief

tinyurl.com

 

[Vagabond]

Japan extends emergency measures, further imperiling the Olympics. (Published 2021)

The expanded restrictions come 11 weeks before the scheduled start of Tokyo’s Summer Games, as a fourth wave of coronavirus infections continues.

tinyurl.com

Japan on Friday extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions until the end of May to contain a surge of ... cases, casting further doubt on the country’s ability to safely host the Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to begin in 11 weeks....

Toru Hashimoto, a lawyer and a former governor of Osaka prefecture, said on a television show on Friday that Olympic organizers were ignoring the severity of Japan’s outbreak, and that it was inappropriate to continue holding pre-Olympic “test events” during the state of emergency, even though they are taking place without spectators.

“If the government wants to reduce the number of people in the city, it’s not a time when test events can be held,” Mr. Hashimoto said.

This is cutting things close!

 

[Sylvia]

Associated Press article today (link works for me despite the ***):

Tokyo Olympic head says Bach visit to Japan could be 'tough'

The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee says it would be “quite tough” for IOC President Thomas Bach to make a planned visit this month to Japan with a state of emergency order being extended by the government to Tokyo and other areas until May 31.

apnews.com

Excerpt:

The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Friday that a visit to Japan this month by IOC President Thomas Bach seemed unlikely with a state of emergency order being extended by the government to Tokyo and other areas until May 31.
Canceling the trip could be embarrassing for the International Olympic Committee and local organizers who say they can hold a “safe and secure” Olympics in the middle of a pandemic as cases surge in Japan — particularly in Tokyo and Japan’s second metropolis of Osaka. [...]
Bach said recently he hoped to go to Hiroshima to meet the torch relay — and presumably to Tokyo — on May 17 and 18. But he has said his plans were not finalized.
Coincidentally, powerful IOC member Sebastian Coe is in Tokyo for a track and field test event on Sunday at the new $1.4 billion national stadium.

Olympic sponsor Procter & Gamble:

P&G 'Leads With Love' in W+K Ads for the Tokyo Olympics | Muse by Clios

In a pair of moving Olympic films breaking today, Procter & Gamble explores the role moms frequently play in helping young athletes reach their full potential, both in the arena and as human beings. First, this two-and-half-minute tale combines narratives about bullying and bad sportsmanship...

musebycl.io

 

[MacMadame]

I can't see them canceling it unless they absolutely have to. Too much $$ involved at this point.

 

[skatingguy]

I can't see them canceling it unless they absolutely have to. Too much $$ involved at this point.

That's been my thinking all along, but time is getting short. It may be that countries start pulling out because of the COVID situation in individual countries, and the games begin lose meaning if enough countries withdraw.

 

[MacMadame]

That's been my thinking all along, but time is getting short. It may be that countries start pulling out because of the ********* situation in individual countries, and the games begin lose meaning if enough countries withdraw.

Except we've seen other sports go on even when cases were high. Skate America in Vegas, for example. If there is a bubble for athletes and precautions are taken, most athletes will show up IMO. This is their big stage and 4 years from now there is no guarantee they will qualify for it.

 

[skatingguy]

Except we've seen other sports go on even when cases were high. Skate America in Vegas, for example. If there is a bubble for athletes and precautions are taken, most athletes will show up IMO. This is their big stage and 4 years from now there is no guarantee they will qualify for it.

I don't think it's about athletes not showing up, I think it's about athletes testing positive for the virus in the lead up to the games. That could take out whole teams, or countries, depending on how athletes are training.

 

[MacMadame]

I don't think it's about athletes not showing up, I think it's about athletes testing positive for the ***** in the lead up to the games. That could take out whole teams, or countries, depending on how athletes are training.

It could but as we've seen, these events go on even if some athletes can't come.

The Olympics is a machine and it's hard to stop a machine. I think it won't be canceled unless the organizers are forced to do so, similar to when Worlds was canceled last year -- not by the ISU but by Montreal pulling the permits.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Except we've seen other sports go on even when cases were high. Skate America in Vegas, for example.

I hardly think one can rationally compare the Olympic Games to a domestic figure skating event held at a second-tier casino,of which one of the biggest logistical challenges was deciding what grade cardboard stock to print out the feline and lizard crowd cutouts.

-BB

 

[Karen-W]

I hardly think one can rationally compare the Olympic Games to a domestic figure skating event held at a second-tier casino,of which one of the biggest logistical challenges was deciding what grade cardboard stock to print out the feline and lizard crowd cutouts.

-BB

True. But it also doesn't change the fact that there are big bucks at stake (far bigger than the USFS not holding Skate America or Nationals) for the IOC if they are forced to cancel the Olympics, and let's not forget the old saying - "money makes the world go 'round."

 

[Sylvia]

Copying out the tweets in this thread by the Associated Press' sports writer Stephen Wade: https://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP/status/1391626625393909761

1 To understand the Olympics, understand this. The International Olympic Committee is a sports business. Like NFL, NBA, it lives off selling broadcast rights. This is source of almost 75% of income. Another 18% from sponsors. It has two major events: Summer and Winter Olympics.
2 No Olympics. Little income. For this reason, it needs the Tokyo Olympics to happen, even if just for TV with zero fans. The cost for pulling this off falls almost entirely on Japan. The official cost for Tokyo Olympics is $15.4. Estimates suggest it might be twice that.
3 All but $6.7 billion is public money. Overall contribution by IOC is about $1.5 billion. Japanese pick up bills for most things including finding 10,000 medical workers to staff games. Unclear who pays bills if athletes or staff fall ill. Believe athletes need to sign waivers.
4 IOC has not-for-profit status in Switzerland. It says it distributes 90% of income back to sports bodies, who then dole out. Just finished a new headquarters at cost of $150 million. About 40% of all IOC income is from US network NBC. IOC and NBC in reality operate as partners.
5 All the contortions to hold Tokyo are driven by TV, like most sports businesses. Before all the commercialization, these Olympics would have simply been canceled. That is not possible now. To disguise this fact, IOC says the games are needed for the athletes. For global good.
6 Athletes love Olympics. Many are in obscure sports that do not get much general attention. So this is one shot. And many athletes go to only one Olympics. They will put up with difficult conditions. IOC knows this. As for Japan. It asked for these Olympics and now sucked in.
7 Japan must save face. Billions already spent that might have been better spent elsewhere. Too late now, and pandemic keeps meter running. Finally. China host to 2022 Winter Olympics. Japan does not want to fail and cede stage to Beijing. IOC also understands these geopolitics.

 

[missing]

Philip Hersh doesn't think holding the Summer Olympics is such a great idea.

Could the Games be postponed another year at this point? The IOC and Japanese authorities have said no, but their initial reaction to any change was similar in March 2020, when the first questions arose about the fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Postponement to July of 2022 would cause more logistical scrambling and conflicts with some other major sporting events. But by coincidence, there would be no conflict with the world’s second largest sporting event, the 2022 men’s soccer World Cup, because it does not begin until Nov. 21, a schedule reflecting health concerns about the triple-digit summer temperatures in the host nation of Qatar.

Postponement has to be considered again. So does cancellation, should the global course of the pandemic or its national course in Japan fail to improve in the next month to six weeks. Even with things as they stand today, what is the point of shoving them down the throats of a Japanese public that keeps saying clearly to pollsters it does not want the Summer Games in 2021?

Forget the specious argument that if other sporting events are going on, so can the Olympics. The Olympics are larger than any other event that has recently taken place by exponential orders of magnitude, and they involve people from every part of the world, so the challenges of staging them safely also are exponentially larger.

 

[MacMadame]

I don't remember... didn't he say similar things about Worlds this year? i.e., that it shouldn't be held.

 

[mjb52]

I wish I loved anything as much as Phil Hersh loves arguing that sporting events should be cancelled. What a blessing that he has found his passion.