User:Chase.ingersoll23/Concerns and controversies at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Concerns of the 2020 Summer Olympics

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics is filled with concern and Controversy.

For the olympics to be successful a lot of goals need to be done to do this there is also many challenges that must be overcome, some extreme controversies and worrying concerns. Sexual harassment, the Covid-19 pandemic, a very large spending cap, and economic trouble are some of those concerns and controversies.

Covid-19: When the Olympics were fast approaching Tokyo officials were becoming more and more concerned with the upcoming games. The Covid-19 pandemic had been held in check leading up to the games but an uptick in new cases before the games had started have caused some real concern. Japan's national vaccination rate was lagging behind leading into the Olympics concerning local officials and civilians of the Country. Officials were concerned that the Olympics could cause illness of a large number of people throughout the Country including the athletes. With 11,000 athletes that came to Japan for the Olympics that large number was extremely concerning for everyone. The large concern was with good reason and everyone needed to be extremely cautious about the upcoming dangerous event. Everyone understands that the lack of sports for both athletes and fans has been crushing over the last couple of years but if the correct precautions are not taken then it could be an extremely unfortunate situation for everyone involved.[1]��

Politics: The Olympic's were postponed for the first time in the history of the games. International fans although are not allowed to come spectate the games. Politics and the games also correlate together, in 2013 when Japan was hosting the Prime Minister wanted to host because his country needed life and this is what they got. After the Second World War in Japan there had been economic downfall so leaders were extremely hopeful that the Olympics would rejuvenate the countries economy. Having to wait over a year the cost to host the games continues to sky rocket. They also had to destroy and reconstruct the National stadium in Tokyo. Mr Yoshiro Mori had made a sexist comment during a meeting and was forced to resign due to his comments, a former olympian was put in his placater to find out that she too sexually harassed a male athlete pryer to these games. This isn't saying Japan is a sexist Country but it does concern most because the leaders of groups were doing these things, so how much of that really goes on.[2]

Social Justice issues: There is also major concerns about the Black Lives Matter movement leading up to the Olympic Games. The IOC Rule #50 says that (no demonstrations of a political, religious or racial propaganda nature is permitted on an Olympics site- definitely not during the medal, opening, or closing ceremonies.) "[3]" Gender equity in prior years has been a serious issue, but this issue has been thoroughly resolved as all countries are required to send both women and men to the games. Roughly 49% of all athletes at the games are women an outstanding number, and a real improvement from the passed. Mental health has also been a serious issue especially in the past few years and leading into the games. (An Australian basketball player backed out to preserve her mental health because she did not feel the environment was safe("[4]) Before the games started at the prelims there was obviously drug testing, this is very controversial as some believe that drug testing should not be allowed especially for medicinal marijuana. Sha'Carri Richardson and Olympic sprinter for team USA ran into this issue and was kicked off the Olympic team due to her positive drug test, this caused an uproar throughout fans and other athletes. This will be discussed and looked at going forward. Finally Trans athletes and their possible role going forward at the Olympics. Most officials do not want to deal with it but we will see our first ever Trans athlete participate in the olympics this year.[5]

Economic issues: Another major concern with the Tokyo Olympics is the amount of money being spent to run these games. This years olympics is on pace to be the largest ever totaling over 20 million dollars. [6] (The average cost for a country to host an olympics is 12 billion dollars.) "[7]" What makes this years total so much more staggering than prior years. The extremely long preparation due to the postponement of the games has caused the price to rise, they also built the new stadium for the games which was a large cause in the huge spending spree this year. (Montreal took 30 years to pay of the debt they incurred on the 1976 summer Olympics)" [8]" The large amounts of time and money poured in is very scary for public officials, because it may take several years to get back to steady economic wealth again. The goal for Japan hosting these events was to begin a booming economy, and with less fans attending (especially international) that will cause some real issues with no tourism coming in the money chain will be slowing down. Many people trust that these games will rejuvenate Tokyo and help it become a better country, others think that they could fall into an economic hardship which would cause heartbreak and anger throughout the country.[9]

(In Japan, the population has turned against the Olympics. One poll found a whopping 83 percent opposes staging the Games this summer.) This is an astonishing number and one the government of Japan needs to seriously consider. The government and olympic officials did not take this staggering poll into consideration saying "the show must go on". This shows the resilience by the country and by the olympic leaders, but could this cause a problem with civilians of Tokyo and Japan. Sports get people through a lot of hardships an can take someone to a place they have never been, but is it really worth putting the health of others at risk and if so at what cost does it do this.

The Olympics are a truly beautiful and amazing event hosted and brought to us as fans for enjoyment and to show unity throughout all of the countries, everyone involved puts in a sufficient amount of effort and the final show is an extremely beautiful thing. The games will continue to draw billions of dollars and billions of eyes because of the competitiveness and pure beauty that comes out of the games. Spectators from around the globe attend these amazing games and it will continue to make families smile for years to come, it is truly something that brings the world together.

Engle, J. (2021, May 10). Lesson of the day: 'the Tokyo Olympics explained'. The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/learning/lesson-of-the-day-the-tokyo-olympics-explained.html.

The sociology of the Olympics: A prelude to Tokyo 2020(1) and Beijing 2022: International Review for the Sociology of Sport. SAGE Journals. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/page/irs/virtualspecialcollections.

More than the games: The Olympics and the global spotlight on Societal issues. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/more-games-olympics-and-global-spotlight-societal-issues.

Streeter, K. (2021, April 12). It's time to rethink the Olympics. The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/sports/olympics/olympic-games-boycott-tokyo-beijing.html.

Boykoff, J. (2021, May 27). Perspective | Tokyo is learning that the only force stronger than a pandemic is the Olympics. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/05/27/tokyo-olympics-pandemic-crisis/.

Cervantes, A. (2021, July 23). The tokyo Olympics' staggering price tag and where it stands in history. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2021, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tokyo-olympics-staggering-price-tag-and-where-it-stands-in-history-11627049612.