mercredi 4 mars 2020
Could the Coronavirus Outbreak Put the 2020 Olympics in Jeopardy? It's Possible
As coronavirus continues to spread globally, officials must now consider the possibility that the virus could impact the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo. While Japan's Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto, told parliament that the contract calls for the Games to be held within 2020 - which, in theory, could allow for a postponement - the decision to cancel ultimately rests in the hands of the International Olympic Committee, and at least one member believes the Olympics are more likely to be cancelled than postponed.
The IOC's longest-serving member, former Canadian swimmer Dick Pound, told the Associated Press that decision is likely to come later this Spring. "In and around that time [late May], I'd say folks are going to have to ask: 'Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?'" he said. From an outsider's perspective, it might seem more logical to move the Games to another location if Tokyo were deemed unsafe, or simply postpone them until the danger has passed, but Pound noted that both of those options are difficult to execute.
"You just don't postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics," he explained to the AP. "There's so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can't just say, 'We'll do it in October.'" Similarly, moving the Games to another city would be nearly impossible "because there are few places in the world that could think of gearing up facilities in that short time to put something on." The only options would be cities that have very recently hosted a Summer Olympics - think: Rio de Janeiro or London - and even that would be difficult to pull off on such short notice, since most Olympic venues are put into use for other purposes after the Olympics have ended.
At this point, it's very much a waiting game to see what happens with the coronavirus and how it continues to affect travel to and from Asia. It's worth noting that the most recent Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro did go ahead despite an outbreak of the Zika virus, and both Hashimoto and Pound seem optimistic that the Tokyo Games will go forward as planned. "As far as we all know, you're going to be in Tokyo," Pound said, directing his remarks to the athletes. "All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation."
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