Editorial | Tokyo Games may yet prove a winner

It is a measure of the global catastrophe of the Covid-19 pandemic that it has forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games until next year. It took the cataclysms of two world wars to bring about the only comparable disruption of the modern Olympic cycle – the cancellation of the 1916, 1940 and 1944 Games. With Canada and Australia withdrawing and Britain set to follow, the decision was inevitable. Olympic organisers and Japanese government officials had become isolated in their determination to press ahead.

It came as a relief to athletes the world over stressed by uncertainty, even if it meant they have to put their Olympic dreams on hold and refocus on training and qualification. The worsening pandemic made health concerns paramount. International travel bans and quarantine requirements undermined carefully timed preparations. Athletes and their national organisations had been pushing for an unprecedented suspension. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resolve to push ahead began to look increasingly like poor judgment driven by domestic politics.

For Japan, its troubles are far from over. No other nation has had to face the challenges of delaying the world’s biggest sporting event. They include the fate of tens of thousands of ticket-holders at home and abroad and whether the country can hope to recoup its US$10 billion investment. The Tokyo organising committee will have to decide whether to keep on a staff of 3,500, and hotels will need to fill empty rooms and rebook visitors for summer next year. For Abe the outcome could be important to his political fortunes, after criticism over the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

For Hong Kong, the postponement gives the government time to consider entering into the bidding for television rights for the Olympics next year so that RTHK can broadcast them free to air. This would resolve uncertainty about the outcome amid calls for the government to subsidise a commercial bid. Officials would need to work closely with RTHK on the project, since it takes a TV network a year to prepare for Olympic coverage. It would be a morale-boosting initiative when the world, hopefully, will be recovering from the economic and humanitarian devastation of the pandemic.