(Combat New Crown Pneumonia) International Review: Changes and Changes in the Tokyo Olympics

China News Agency, Tokyo, March 25th: The changes and unchangeability of the Tokyo Olympics

China News Agency reporter Lu Shaowei and Wu Xu

On the evening of March 24, Tokyo time, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Committee issued a joint statement announcing that the 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo will be rescheduled to 2020, but not later than the summer of 2021. At this point, finally "a boot" finally landed, and the debate over whether the Tokyo Olympics could be held as scheduled under the epidemic came to an end.

The Olympic Games have been suspended in history, but there is no precedent for postponement. As a global event, the changes in the Olympic dates will inevitably lead to "moving the whole body." The Olympics has a history of more than 2,000 years. Although time has changed, the spiritual core of the pursuit of peace, promotion of exchanges, and development of sports, as well as the Olympic complex of the people of the world, are the same and consistent.

The "Butterfly Effect" in Change

The spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic worldwide has become the biggest variable in the Tokyo Olympics, and discussions about changes to the Olympic Games plan have also started because of the epidemic.

As early as late February, Dick Bond, senior member of the International Olympic Committee, said in an interview that if the epidemic is not controlled in late May, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled, rather than postponing or changing the host city. Although the Japanese government urgently "fire-extinguished" at the time saying that this was not the official opinion of the International Olympic Committee, it was also regarded as an earlier voice of the Olympic authority and the "one boot" of the Olympic plan change came to the ground.

As the global epidemic worsened, voices from all walks of life calling for the Olympics to be postponed. Under such circumstances, it has become unrealistic to hold the Tokyo Olympics on schedule.

The changes in the Olympic time will undoubtedly have the biggest impact on athletes. One year is precious to their athletic career. Japan's Olympic Committee Chairman Yamashita Taiyu has said that if it is postponed for a longer period of time, it may be necessary to conduct a qualification round again. For those who have been trained to be at their best this summer, or those who believe they last participated before retiring, making any choice, regardless of the length of the extension, is a difficult decision.

For viewers, especially those outside Japan, many people plan for the on-site "watching" more than a year in advance. In April 2019, the Organizing Committee of the Tokyo Olympics announced the method of buying tickets by online application and lottery. The probability of applicants wanting to watch the show is very small. The change in the Olympic time will inevitably lead many people to miss hard-won opportunities. This regret is even more regrettable in addition to bearing economic losses.

As a mature event, the Olympics has its own cycle. The extension of one year means that this cycle has become five years and the next cycle has become three years. No one can give a definitive answer to the preparation and hosting of the next Paris Olympics and how much impact other sports events will bring.

In addition, the economic account brought by the extension is also very expensive. Honorary professor Miyamoto Katsuhiro of Kansai University in Japan made an estimate that if it is postponed for one year, the venue, Olympic Village and other related facilities will have an additional year of management fees. In addition, the relevant groups have to organize competitions again to select players. These funds add up to about 640.8 billion yen (about 5.8 billion US dollars).

At the same time, the Olympics was a business carnival. It is understood that the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) alone spent $ 1.4 billion on the broadcast rights of the Tokyo Olympics. At the end of 2019, NBC also announced that its 2020 Tokyo Olympics advertising sales had exceeded $ 1 billion, which is expected to break the record set by the 2016 Rio Olympics. Nowadays, TV companies have to adjust the broadcasting plan for next year for the postponed Olympics, but most advertising companies have already invested their advertising expenses this year. In addition, the local sponsorship of the Tokyo Olympics is hierarchical, including 62 sponsors, of which top gold partners need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, and this fee needs to be adjusted according to the new Olympic plan.

Unchanging "Olympic Feelings"

Although the dates are changed, the host Japan is still attached to the Olympics. The attitude of the athletes towards the Olympics has not changed, and the world ’s enthusiasm for the Olympics has not diminished.

Japan's commitment to hosting the Olympic Games is not difficult to understand. As everyone knows, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was the first time that the Olympic Movement came to Asia. Whether it is to sweep the haze of war to enhance national self-esteem, or to taste the sweetness of connecting with the world for the first time, the 1964 Olympics is regarded as a turning point in Japan ’s destiny. Exaggerated.

Because of its special Olympic complex, Japan invested a lot of energy and resources for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. From the "Tokyo Eight Minutes" in which the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe incarnates in person at the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee's release of "black technology" including the "robot plan", Japan has Showing its "good intentions".

According to the budget announced by the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is expected to cost 1.35 trillion yen (about 12.4 billion U.S. dollars). The construction period of the Olympic Stadium ’s main national stadium lasted three years, and the project cost reached 156.9 billion yen (approximately 10.07 billion yuan). Around 47,000 plants are planted around the venue, and the building itself uses wood from 47 prefectures in Japan.

Nine major cities in Japan were expected to open 80,000 hotels between 2019 and 2021. Walking on the streets of Tokyo in recent years, I often see road construction, building renovation and other engineering constructions. In addition, in order to cope with the Olympics, Tokyo has also built many new stations and opened new bus lines, enriched foreign language instructions, and made great efforts to provide good services.

Although the plan cannot keep up with the changes, mainstream Japanese opinion, especially in the sports world, has supported this last resort decision. Japan Men ’s National Olympic Coach Moribo said that the Olympic spirit is for the health of people ’s lives. Although postponed, the attitude to take each game seriously has not changed. Japan's women's volleyball coach Kumi Nakata said that the decision to postpone the event will be taken seriously and the Tokyo Olympics will be closely linked to world peace.

The international community and multinational athletes also voiced their understanding. The ITTF stated that it will start to study the relevant response plans for the Olympic Qualification Tournament and World Rankings. It will also work closely with the International Olympic Committee to analyze the impact of the Olympic extension from the perspective of sports events. "It's a worthy sacrifice to realize our dreams by waiting another year to realize our dreams." Thomas Daley, a famous British diver, wrote on social media. "I will be one year older and my body will be You will feel it, but I promise to do my best to make the national team proud when the time comes. "

Indeed, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics may be late, but not absent. The sports spirit of the Olympics represents peace, health, and safety, and is the best fusion of human harmony. The world has more expectations for the belated Olympics, as the International Olympic Committee said in a statement: The Tokyo Olympics can be a beacon of hope for the world during this turbulent period, and the Olympic flame can be a beacon at the end of the tunnel. It is believed that when the epidemic dissipates, the moment when the Tokyo Olympics restarts will be even brighter. (Finish)