2020 Summer Olympics – Will they or won’t they happen?

The recent developments of the COVID-19 pandemic seem to have affected every source of entertainment from theaters to daytime shows, such as Ellen, and sports. It is during times like these that we realize how much sports play a part in our everyday lives. From soccer to basketball, baseball, football, and so on. The 2020 Summer Olympics set to happen this summer in Tokyo, Japan, is still a question for many viewers.

Organizers are hesitant to delay the event because of the financial implications postponing the event would entail. Although the organizers are facing a lot of criticism and pushback from athletes, fans and national Olympic officials, no decision has been made. The U.S.A Track & Field team was another U.S. team to request a delay.

Furthermore, Canada is one of the first countries to declare it won’t send any athletes to the Tokyo Games unless they are postponed by at least a year. Hayley Wickenheiser, a member of the I.O.C., the International Olympic Committee, and a six-time Canadian Olympic, claimed that the plan to move forward with the games was “insensitive and irresponsible,” given the state of the world right now.

I think it is in the best interest of the Olympic organization to delay the Summer Games until 2021, given the health crisis we are currently experiencing worldwide. Moreover, its brand image could be tarnished if they don’t take corrective action.

References:

ESPN News Services (2020, March 22). Canada won’t send athletes to Olympics if they’re held in 2020. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/28940282/canada-send-athletes-olympics-held-2020

Keh, A., Futterman, M., Panja, T., & Rich, M. (2020, March 21). An Olympic Showdown: The Rising Clamor to Postpone the Tokyo Summer Games. Retrieved by https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus-cancel.html