Every four years the world comes together to celebrate an ancient athletic tradition. The Summer Olympic Games have been a way for people from every corner of the globe to distract themselves by watching athletes compete for a coveted gold medal, or function as the pinnacle of national pride and physical ability for the competitors themselves. This year, the games are set to be held in Tokyo, beginning on July 24 and concluding on Aug. 9.
What makes the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games different, however, is the outbreak of the coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, that emerged last year in Wuhan, China. According to The New York Times, the illness has infected more than 95,000 people across 78 countries and killed an estimated 3,200. The severity of the virus has become apparent to many, including Americans who are now fearful that it will spread to their neighborhood; up until recently, the virus has been a far-away, contained problem.
Japan, of course, is geographically close to China and is much more vulnerable to a rapid spread of the disease which has already killed 12 in the nation of islands. Recently, there has been worry that this year’s Olympic Games may be postponed, scaled-back or even cancelled. The repercussions of this happening would bring many things surrounding the production of the games crashing down.
To begin with the obvious, hundreds of millions of people worldwide would be disappointed that they can’t cheer on their nation’s athletes and watch the best of the best put their hard work to the test. Watching the opening ceremony after a four-year hiatus is something that sticks with viewers for a long time; a huge spectacle celebrating the coordination of the world is punctuated by the entrance of each country’s attending athletes.
Second, the athletes themselves would have wasted years of intensive training, both physical and mental. These people prepare themselves for at most a handful of very specific events, and not having the ability to show the world what you can accomplish would be a crushing defeat. Athletes such as Simone Biles, Caeleb Dressel and Janja Garnbret would lose the special opportunity to walk into the Olympic stadium wearing their nation’s colors and try to compete to bring the gold back to their home.
Finally, there would be a massive financial loss. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. broadcasting rights through the 2032 games and has sold more than $1.25 billion in advertising space. Although the companies who are set to have advertisements run during NBCUniversal’s coverage of the games haven’t paid for them yet, advertising agencies and marketing consultants have been hard at work developing the campaigns.
We can all hope that the 2020 Tokyo games go on as scheduled for the sake of the athletes preparing to compete, the companies trying not to lose money and for fans of athletics across the world.