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The 2021 Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to take place from 23 July to 08 August in Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have been put under increase pressure in recent weeks to pull the plug on the Olympics due to the dangers of COVID-19.
The Tokyo Olympics was initially scheduled to take place in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to postpone the Olympics to 2021. In early 2021, the JOC believed that it could host the Olympics successfully as it looked like the coronavirus was under control and that the rollout of COVID vaccinations would put an end to the pandemic.
However, things did not go as per plan as Japan entered a state of emergency and extended the same this month. Japan has witnessed a spike in COVID cases during the last 30 days which is the highest that the country has experienced till date. As a result, the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach was forced to cancel his trip to Japan and the same has been postponed indefinitely.
With just over two months to go, both the JOC and the IOC are cutting things very fine and know that they will need to take a decision on the matter very soon. They are also being put under a lot of pressure from the international community and by the opinion polls in Japan which are calling for the Olympics to be cancelled.
Highly Likely That Olympics Gets Cancelled
Japan made the decision earlier this year that it would ban international tourists from entering the country to watch the Olympics. The decision was made because it was too risky to open up the country to foreign tourists when COVID is still rampant in most parts of the world.
A number of top Olympic athletes have also expressed their reluctance to travel to Tokyo at this point in time and take part in the Olympics. American Serena Williams who has won 4 Olympic medals told reporters this week that she is not thinking about the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as of now while Rafael Nadal said he could not commit to playing the Olympics as of now and will have to wait and see how things play out.
Given that there will be no fans in attendance and that a lot of top athletes are not keen in taking part, it makes more sense for the JOC and IOC to cancel the 2021 Olympics.
