The Olympic "empty field" has no precedent in history
Recently, the International Olympic Committee and Japan reached an agreement that, in principle, all games and opening and closing ceremonies for the Tokyo Olympics in 1 metropolis and 3 prefectures (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba) will be held without spectators. Held under the state.
This is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games in a hundred years.
Not only in the metropolitan area, but the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee announced on July 10 that spectators will be banned from the baseball and softball games held in Fukushima and the football games held in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
In this way, only two events, track cycling and football, are left for the Olympic games that spectators are allowed to watch, and only three arena are left.
In response, Seiko Hashimoto, chairman of the Japanese Olympic Organizing Committee, said: "Although it is regrettable, we think that the decision to hold the games empty can get more people's understanding of hosting the Olympics." She also hopes that Japanese citizens with high criticism can understand. The government's decision.
Experts believe that the Japanese government's final choice to host the Olympics in the form of an "empty field" was a cautious and conservative decision made in desperation under the current epidemic prevention situation.
After the state of emergency was lifted in various parts of Japan in late June, the epidemic in Japan rebounded again.
In this context, the Japanese government announced on July 8 that Tokyo entered the fourth round of epidemic emergency, and the implementation period was from July 12 to August 22.
This means that throughout the Olympic Games, Tokyo will be in a state of emergency.
As delegations from various countries have successively arrived in Japan, delegations from Uganda and Serbia have found multiple confirmed cases of the new crown.
As of July 9, 17 people involved in the Tokyo Olympics have been infected with the new crown virus.
For games held in empty courts, the athletes may be the first to be affected.
Some Olympians believe that it is disappointing to have no spectators to witness their fighting moments.
Moreover, spectators are one of the motivations for athletes to compete, and they have an impact on the emotions and psychology of athletes on the field.
In order to invigorate the atmosphere, the Japanese side is planning to take some remedial measures, such as arranging dancing robots in the stands, placing banners with audience portraits, and broadcasting the expressions of audiences watching the game.
Running the game empty will cause major economic losses to Japan.
According to estimates by Japanese experts, the suspension of receiving overseas tourists has caused 150 billion yen in economic losses.
Accepting half of the domestic audience in Japan, the economic loss is about 73.4 billion yen; without the audience, the loss is about 146.8 billion yen.
In addition, whether the venue is empty or not directly affects the on-site placement plan of the advertising sponsor.
Recently, the President of the International Olympic Committee Bach delivered a video speech entitled "The World is with You" to the athletes.
Bach expressed his "regret" regarding the decision to empty the Olympic Games announced by Japan.
The International Olympic Committee stated that it will consider introducing an applause system so that athletes can still empathize with the audience even in empty courts.
Some analysts believe that the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government insist on holding the Olympic Games under the strengthening of epidemic prevention and control, which is the lesser of two evils, and at the same time conveys a positive signal to the world. For the lives of delegation members and Japanese nationals, This may be the "optimal" choice.
Liu Bing