Right, has been all over European news.
I hope they have good TV transmission of events.
I think they should be canceled. It would be sad for the athletes but world health is more important.
To me, the bigger problem is the qualifying events. I think it’s plausible that the Olympics could be run in a safe manner for athletes and support staff, if appropriately funded to be, given how much could change in the 4 months until it kicks off. (My vote as of today would be to run it entirely without spectators but speaking of funding… and I do recognize that Japan has done better than many other countries at managing and mitigating COVID.) However, I don’t know if any of the sports that require athlete qualifications for entry have had enough qualifiers running in enough countries or regions to know that teams are prepared or to make team selections, and I think that given the time frame, making those happen is a much riskier proposition than running the big shebang.
It would be unfortunate- particularly for Tokyo’s finances- but I agree that I think it should be cancelled.
It is important to note that 80% of Japanese citizens believe the Olympics should be canceled.
As an island nation that has done a fair job dealing with the virus, yet has had difficulty obtaining vaccine, I understand why they would rather not have people from all over the world arriving in their country for sport.
It seems to me the only reasons the Games are still on are financial ones. Otherwise it makes no sense to do this before the pandemic is under control.
I completely agree.
I’ve also read that 80% statistic. I wasn’t clear on whether reducing spectators to local-only would contribute to that or not. Either way, it’s just another reason that the show should not go on.
