For many of us, encased in our idyllic little sporting snow globes, is this the moment the full gravity of coronavirus hits home?
It’s OK, everyone: I’ve checked the official Tokyo Olympics website, and everything seems to be fine. The main news story on the homepage is about how the Tokyo 2020 mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, have been having a lovely time in Barcelona on the latest leg of their promotional tour. Then there’s a nice heartwarming tale about Panasonic signing up to sponsor the torch relay. Then an announcement for something called the “Tokyo 2020 Open Innovation Challenge”. Nothing at all about deadly viruses or global disease outbreaks. Nothing about precautions for spectators or athletes. Certainly nothing about calling off the Games altogether, and frankly they would know best. So that’s a relief.
Nevertheless, the malignant rumours persist, driven not just by the continuing spread of coronavirus but by the growing swathe of sporting events succumbing to it. We could probably live without Ireland v Italy in the Six Nations. The Chinese Grand Prix always felt expendable in a calendar already swollen to grotesqueness. But the Olympics? The actual, real-life Olympics? Perhaps for many of us, encased in our idyllic little sporting snow globes, this was the moment when the full gravity of the situation finally hit home.
Written by Jonathan Liew
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/02/the-spectre-of-a-cancelled-olympics-scarier-world-coronavirus under the title “Spectre of a cancelled Olympics belongs to a different, scarier world | Jonathan Liew”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
