Tokyo Olympics take center stage amid global uncertainty
Athletes are hoping to achieve their dreams in Tokyo at a fragile time in human history: COVID-19 has taken another turn with a rise in delta variant cases around the world. The stands and arenas in Tokyo are remarkably empty as international officials hoped limitations on attendance would create a protective bubble of vaccinated athletes.
Commentators have marveled at the resiliency and creativity of athletes, many of whom had to find alternatives to training in facilities like gyms and swimming pools during the pandemic.
While people around the world feel inspired by the individual stories of the Olympians, it’s impossible to ignore the public health risks of holding an event of this size and scale during a global pandemic — not to mention other concerns.
The Olympics have become a lightning rod for criticism
“The Tokyo Olympics demonstrate a central tension of the Olympics,” said Ann Owens, associate professor of sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “It’s both a sports competition and a mega event. While the pandemic presents unique challenges, many recent games have faced criticisms around their size and their impact on cities.”
The criticisms include overspending. Recent examples include the 2016 Summer Games, for which the host city Rio de Janeiro spent an estimated $20 billion, well over the budgeted $14 billion, according to the Council of Foreign Relations. Perhaps the most famous example is the debt incurred by Montreal in the 1976 Olympics.
In her new book, Bringing the Olympics Back to Los Angeles: A History of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, 1984-2014, Owens contrasts the challenges of the Montreal Olympics to the successful 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
“Following the great success of the 1984 Games, the IOC had a surfeit of bidders to choose among for every subsequent Olympiad until public enthusiasm again flagged in the bidding for the 2022 Winter Games and 2024 Olympic Games,” Owens writes. “With another athletic and financial success in 2028 in Los Angeles, the IOC might again find itself with a surplus of bid cities in the ensuing decades.”