2021 Summer Olympics (Tokyo)

Samid

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23 July - 8 August

It's been decided that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will take place with no spectators cheering on the athletes.

The Japanese government has made the decision after a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

What's been announced?
A state of emergency was declared in the Japanese capital on 8 July and will stay in place until 22 August. The 2021 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to take place between 23 July and 8 August, and the Paralympic Games between 24 August and 5 September.

Ministers and organisers have now decided to ban all spectators from the Olympics. A decision will be made about spectators at the Paralympics by 16 July.

Originally, up to 10,000 Japanese fans were to be permitted to attend. Tokyo 2021 President Seiko Hashimoto said she was "sorry to those who purchased tickets and everyone in local areas".

Where are the Olympic venues?
The 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were postponed from last year because of Covid.

The Olympics will feature 33 sports at 339 events across 42 venues. The Paralympics will feature 22 sports at 539 events across 21 venues. Most events will be in the Greater Tokyo area, although some football games and the marathon will take place in the northern city of Sapporo.

What's happening with Covid in Japan?
Overall the country has had relatively low case numbers, but a new wave of infections began in April. As of 8 July, there were 812,089 confirmed cases and 14,848 deaths (compared with five million cases and 128,500 deaths in the UK)

What Covid measures will be in place for visiting athletes?
International athletes and support staff will be tested before departure and on arrival in Japan.

Athletes don't have to be vaccinated, though International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials expect around 80% will be.

Do people in Japan want the Olympics?
Several towns set to host athletes have reportedly pulled out because of fears about Covid and extra pressure on the healthcare system. In May, a Japanese doctors' union said it was "impossible" to hold the Games given the pandemic.

A recent poll in the leading Asahi Shimbun newspaper suggested more than 80% of the population want them cancelled or postponed. The paper also called for the event to be cancelled.

What have athletes' representatives said?
A number of bodies and experts have expressed concern. The World Players Association, representing 85,000 athletes in over 60 countries, said the IOC must do more to ensure athletes' safety - with stricter physical distancing and more rigorous testing.

Japanese athletes have largely kept a low profile, but the country's biggest sports star, tennis champion Naomi Osaka, previously said there should be a debate about whether the Games should go ahead.

Could the games have been cancelled?
The contract between the IOC and the host city Tokyo made it clear only the IOC could cancel the event. The IOC is thought to make around 70% of its money from broadcast rights, and 18% from sponsorship.

It has repeatedly insisted the Games can go ahead safely, even under a state of emergency. If Tokyo had broken the contract and cancelled, the risks and losses would fall on the Japanese side.

The budget for Tokyo 2020 was set at $12.6bn (£8.9bn), although it's been reported that the actual cost could be double that.
 

The Firestarter

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I know IOC are a bunch of corrupt cnuts but this somehow tops all they've done before. I dont think I'll be watching anything from this shitshow.
 

Samid

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Germany's warmup game ended early because one of their players were racially abused.


The game had to be stopped five minutes before the end when the score was 1: 1. After our player Jordan Torunarigha was racially insulted, the German team left the field together.
 

OleBoiii

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Germany's warmup game ended early because one of their players were racially abused.


The game had to be stopped five minutes before the end when the score was 1: 1. After our player Jordan Torunarigha was racially insulted, the German team left the field together.
Do we know if it was the audience or the opposing team that made the comments?
 

Mrs Smoker

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Will ignore most of the team sports, but looking forward to the rest. Will try to watch everything.

Well, if Eurosport Player really has everything.

Fun starts at friday, with some rowing and archery. Before that, football and softball on wednesday and thursday.
 

11101

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It's always been a collection of all the sports too shit to generate any interest on their own. With no spectators and half the athletes likely to be isolating by the start it's going to especially bad. :lol:


I'm interested to see how surfing fares though. I hope the rumoured typhoon arrives.
 

Samid

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Will ignore most of the team sports, but looking forward to the rest. Will try to watch everything.

Well, if Eurosport Player really has everything.

Fun starts at friday, with some rowing and archery. Before that, football and softball on wednesday and thursday.
That still exists?

Discovery+ are claiming they'll show everything so should be the same with EP.
 

Mrs Smoker

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That still exists?

Discovery+ are claiming they'll show everything so should be the same with EP.
Sure, it's a life saver here, with biggest internet/tv providers saying feck off to Discovery (probably not the same as yours), which limited Eurosport to just a few percent of possible audience. Quality wise, it could be better, content wise, outstanding.
 

Desert Eagle

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Might still get cancelled right? The Japanese public are largely against it too. Men's basketball , men's tennis and maybe men's football are probably the gold ribbon events. Who's the favorite for the 100m btw?
 

backofthenet

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Might still get cancelled right? The Japanese public are largely against it too. Men's basketball , men's tennis and maybe men's football are probably the gold ribbon events. Who's the favorite for the 100m btw?
Trayvon Brommell probably for the men, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price for the women. To be honest the women's race will be a lot better than the mens this time around. They've run some serious times this year, where the men, with the likes of Coleman getting a ban, are a way off the Bolt standard.
 

Desert Eagle

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Trayvon Brommell probably for the men, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price for the women. To be honest the women's race will be a lot better than the mens this time around. They've run some serious times this year, where the men, with the likes of Coleman getting a ban, are a way off the Bolt standard.
Cheers. America and Jamaica should dominate again I guess.
 

backofthenet

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Cheers. America and Jamaica should dominate again I guess.
Very much so. 8 of the top 10 fastest men this year are American. 4 of the top women are Jamaican, and 3 American. Of course, they can only pick 3 entries for each event, but I'd be surprised if they're not the vast majority of the finals.
 

11101

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Trayvon Brommell probably for the men, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price for the women. To be honest the women's race will be a lot better than the mens this time around. They've run some serious times this year, where the men, with the likes of Coleman getting a ban, are a way off the Bolt standard.
What's going on with Yohan Blake? Is he past it now?
 

backofthenet

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What's going on with Yohan Blake? Is he past it now?
He's run a 9.95 this year, but he's only 11th in the times list with that, and he's 32.

Oh, and an advert for doping - Gatlin, who's 40 next year, has run 9.98 this year. Seeing as the fastest British man this year, CJ Ujah, has a best time of 10.03, you cannot tell me that he's not benefitting from earlier drug use. Sub 10 at 40 is ridiculous. Thank god he's not at the Olympics this time round.
 

Lightbringer

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How come US women football team is getting spanked by Sweden?

Because sweden is a proper, fast and hungry team. United women should recruit a bunch of swedish players from damallsvenskan. Everton already did unfortunately.
 

Samid

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Because sweden is a proper, fast and hungry team. United women should recruit a bunch of swedish players from damallsvenskan. Everton already did unfortunately.
Right. I saw an article the other day titled "Are Olympics too easy for USWNT, and too small for women's soccer?" and assumed they'd steamroll this competition. Guess that was just Americans being cocky.
 

jojojo

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How come US women football team is getting spanked by Sweden?
Ageing team. A lot of the US based squad hardly played last season. Key players still recovering after injuries. New manager who might not be working out as well as they'd hoped.

If anyone did l think it would be an easy tournament, Sweden will have reminded them that they need to play. Oz and NZ in the same group - top two go through, but there are only 3 groups, and the two best third place teams go through as well. So they've time to get their acts together.
 

Samid

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What a day for the Zambian captain! Completes her hat-trick as her team gets destroyed 3-10...
 

mu4c_20le

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Shaping to be a catastrofeck
No shortage of drama so far. Their opening ceremony director just got sacked for making holocaust jokes in the past, in addition to:


Tokyo 2020 - postponed last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic that has constantly threatened to derail the event - has seen three men forced to step down since the start of 2021.
  • Earlier this week, a composer quit the team creating the ceremony after it emerged he had bullied classmates with disabilities at school
  • In March, Olympics' creative chief Hiroshi Sasaki quit after suggesting that plus-size comedian Naomi Watanabe could appear as an "Olympig". He later apologised
  • And in February, Yoshiro Mori was forced to step down as the head of the organising committee after he made remarks about women that were criticised as "inappropriate". Mr Mori was quoted as saying women talked too much and that meetings with many female board directors would "take a lot of time"