100 days in Tokyo, guide to the Olympics in obstacles

Defer and resize, but don’t rename. The Olympic Games are almost upon us, there are 100 days left to the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony which cannot be scheduled in 2020, being finished, but which ended a year after the expected date. Friday 23 July 2021 the start of the most diverse Olympic Games in recent years. Here is what we know, so far, about the Japanese Olympics, perhaps the biggest victim of the pandemic, the backstage for Federica Pellegrini, the first for Larissa Iapichino.

THE JUMP
There was a long jump, a whole year, but the Olympics did not skip. The games scheduled between June and July 2020 were scheduled between 23 July (at 20 local time, 14 in Italy the opening ceremony) and 8 August 2021. The Paralympics ended between 24 August and 5 have also been postponed. September. Until now, the Olympics had never been postponed, but canceled due to the two World Wars.

MONEY
The organizing committee and the Olympic committee are ready to do anything to make the games. At stake are the billions of television rights that would be lost if the games were not played.

THE SPECTATORS
It has already been confirmed that there will only be Japanese audiences, no one will be able to go from abroad. Those who already had tickets must confidently wait for the refund. It will certainly take time. The Japanese themselves have doubts. Between 70 and 80 percent of respondents in a survey would like games to be canceled. Only athletes, coaches, referees and journalists can go from abroad.

THE NAME
The year has not been changed. They are done in 2021, but they are still 2020 because all merchandising already had this date. Maybe a postponed Olympic T-shirt will have the value of a Gronchi Rosa.

THE TORCH
Different, but not devoid of its symbols, so will the XXXII Olympiad. The flashlight is already passing through Japan. She left Fukushima on March 25th. Nobody can follow her on the street. No gathering is allowed. Spectators can only follow the race from their own homes.

THE ORDER OF GAMES
There are usually two years between the summer and winter games. Due to the postponement there are only six months between Tokyo and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games preceding Milan-Cortina 2026. The next Summer Olympics are in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

JAPAN
Tokyo hosted the summer games in 1964. Japan had two editions of the winter games: Sapporo 1972 and Nagano 1998. Miraitowa is the mascot of the Olympics, the name combines the words future and eternity, Someity is that of the Paralympics and is a type of cherry tree.

THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE
There will be no maxi canteen open 24 hours a day, there should be small catering outlets and you will have to stay in your own building. You will not be able to go to Tokyo in the city, the entrances and exits will be controlled: only to the airport, the training and competition venues.

TIMETABLES
Due to the time difference, seven hours difference between Tokyo and Rome, most of the races are between dawn and early afternoon. If in Rio 2016 the medals arrive at dinner time, from Japan they will arrive at lunchtime. The TV rights for the broadcasting of all games are owned by Eurosport which can also broadcast in streaming. Rai has the rights to about 200 hours of competitions on TV.

THE NEW SPORTS
They return after 13 years of baseball and softball absence. The new sports on the program are karate, surfing (at Shidashita Beach about fifty kilometers from Tokyo), climbing and skateboarding. There are more women’s events to bring more gender equality.

PRESENT AND ABSENT
North Korea has already made it known that it will not participate. There will be Russian athletes if they qualify regularly, but not the Moscow flag and its anthem because the nation is excluded due to doping cases.

PANDEMIC
A 300-bedroom hotel has been reserved for athletes and technicians with Covid symptoms. If they do not need hospitalization, they will remain in quarantine for ten days. It has been established that it will be possible to stay inside the Olympic village for a limited time. A tampon every four days is scheduled, but they could do more due to variations. The Italian delegation will be fully vaccinated, even if a vaccination obligation is not required to participate in the games.

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