There seems to be some confusion about the state of the Games.
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby is a 78-year-old song that might be a proper way of describing the question of whether there is going to be an Olympics this summer in Tokyo. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was pushed back a year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Now there are conflicting reports out of Japan that the 2021 version of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics that is supposed to start on July 23rd may not happen. The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach sees no reason why the event should be scrapped, apparently Bach is unconcerned or does not see a COVID-19 problem and is convinced that COVID-19 will magically disappear by July. The Japanese government has poured cold water on a report that the country is going to not be able to host the event and will go after the 2032 Summer Olympics as some sort of consolation prize. It is all or nothing at all for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games, the IOC has no backup Olympic plan for the Games.
The Tokyo Olympics has faced some rather unusual circumstances starting with the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Japan won the right to host the 2020 Games in 2013 despite the fact the country was still dealing with the problem. Money needed to clean up the contaminated area would be diverted to an Olympic fund. The original design for the Tokyo Olympic Stadium was discarded. Japan has spent an estimated $15 billion on the Olympic project. Japan elected officials want to salvage something for some sort of Olympic legacy although the legacy from the 2020 Games or 2021 Games will be the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacted the event. Bach doesn’t even know if Olympic personnel should get COVID-19 shots as part of the Games. Tokyo 2021 is a problem.
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