It will be an Olympic event like no other, a colossal sporting event staged in the midst of a pandemic.
Organizers in Tokyo and the IOC began on Wednesday the task of explaining what they intend to do by revealing their “manuals” detailing how the 15,400 athletes will be able to enter Japan – and leave Japan – for an Olympic Games that will open on 23 December. July, followed by the Parlympics a month later.
“We have many questions about how the assembly of the games will be this summer. And today is a preliminary review of how things will be done, ”said Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi while taking part in a video conference with Tokyo organizers.
The presentation of the manuals is intended to provide peace of mind and certainty to athletes.
It is also an attempt to convince the Japanese public that the jousts must go ahead. Recent polls found that 80% support the Games being postponed or canceled. The Japanese perceive that the appointment constitutes a health risk in one of the countries that best responded to the pandemic.
The manual presented on Wednesday was focused on international sports federations and leaders. Guidelines for athletes, audiovisual production and the press will be released in the coming days.
They are all similar, and only represent a “first version”. Much of the information is fuzzy, with additional details expected in updates scheduled for April and June.
The International Olympic Committee organized a similar session at the beginning of the week with athletes and their representatives to explain the strict guidelines in the manuals.
In that video conference, which The Associated Press was able to access, IOC President Thomas Bach addressed the great unknown.
“Right now, no scientist can predict the health situation for 206 National Olympic Committees at the time of the Olympics,” Bach told the athletes. He also mentioned that the IOC received new information every day and begged the athletes for patience.
Games operations director Pierre Ducrey explained what the process to enter Japan will be like. Both Dubi and Ducrey described the manuals as a “draft”
“In the manual we have documented what the participant group should do with measurements 14 days before the trip,” Ducrey said. “It includes a test before leaving the country of origin, a test when entering the country and tests for each group during their stay in Japan.”
Olympic officials anticipate that athletes would have to be tested every four days. They will be advised to arrive in Japan five days before their competition and leave two days later.
Dubi responded to a question about spectators at the competitions. Everything indicates that the presence of fans from abroad will not be allowed, but he did not confirm it.
“The decision has yet to be made, but sometime in the spring we are going to have to make a decision on a number of spectators – the proportion that will be allowed in a stadium – and also the issue of spectators from abroad,” he said. Dubi.
The presentation of the manuals took place two weeks ago that a British newspaper, citing an unnamed Japanese government official, reported that the Games would be canceled. The IOC and the organizing committee denied it, and the manuals try to offer some idea of concrete plans after months of little information.
“Regardless of the prevailing situation with the coronavirus, we are going to have games,” said Yoshiro Mori, the chair of the organizing committee and former Japanese prime minister during a meeting Tuesday with lawmakers from the ruling party. “We must stop talking about whether the games will be held or not, but talk about how they will be.”
