Editorial | Better to be safe than sorry with Olympics

According to Australian Olympics boss Matt Carroll, the IOC does not live in a bubble. Speaking after a worldwide phone hook-up with the IOC, he insisted athletes’ health is paramount. But consider the logistical challenge of delivering competitors safely to Tokyo, possibly using charter planes for isolation, setting up quarantined base camps so athletes can continue training with minimal risk of infection, and minimising time spent in the Olympic Village.

It all reinforces the question whether it is time to cancel or at least postpone the Games, if the latter is practicable. True, as IOC president Thomas Bach has pointed out, with four months to go there is no rush. But other major sporting events have been cancelled, albeit at shorter notice. And athletes deserve to be relieved of the agony of uncertainty.

A sporting festival is not what the world needs when it is fighting a deadly pandemic. Health and safety come first. It does not help that the Japanese government has been under fire for its slow response to the coronavirus. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have invested a lot of political capital in hosting a successful Games, with elections due before October next year. But by pressing on now Japan risks late cancellation or withdrawals among nations and competitors.

If the Games go ahead Tokyo will become one of the very few cities to host the Summer Olympics at least twice. This newspaper argued recently that it may be better to put that ambition on hold. The spread of the pandemic has been so devastating that it can be argued there remains little choice. It is better to be safe than sorry and cancel now rather than jeopardise hopes of a successful Games.