Opinion | 2020 Olympics one-year countdown: Tokyo already bursting at the seams and boiling over
- Organisers hurrying to alleviate potential flashpoint a year out from opening ceremony
- Sweltering heat and gridlocked traffic are the main issues
One year out from the official lighting of the Olympic torch at New National Stadium, those hands are trembling slightly.
While the projected budget of US$7.3 billion has reportedly soared to triple that amount, organisers were left scrambling when both the Games logo – because of a protracted copyright suit – and the original stadium design had to be scrapped. Meanwhile, traffic and health agencies in Tokyo have long been warning of paralysing gridlock and fatal temperatures during the Games, particularly on the back of the record heatwave in 2018 that left 96 people dead in the capital.
Searing weather and traffic snarls, however, are a hallmark of virtually every Summer Olympics. So too, sadly, is corruption and in perhaps the most damning pre-Olympic development, the president of the Japan Olympic Committee, Takeda himself had to resign amid an ongoing corruption probe over pay-offs to secure the bid. Despite all that, the Games still have a chance to make a positive and dramatic impact on the future of a country desperately in need of one.
As Tokyo and Japan prepare to welcome the world next summer, the world is more than willing to accept the invitation.
Despite being the largest metropolitan area on the planet, with over 32 million people, Tokyo is much less claustrophobic than Hong Kong and, other than on the rush-hour subway trains, it does not feel oppressively crowded. All of that will change dramatically during the Olympics as organisers are expecting upwards of 10 million foreign visitors. According to global travel agents and ticket agencies, the demand for flights to Japan and tickets to Olympic events is unprecedented.