Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Zijiang
IOC President Bach concluded his visit to Japan on the 18th. During his 72 hours in Tokyo, he repeatedly emphasized the following three clear principles for the Olympics next year:
First, the Olympics will definitely open as scheduled; second, the Olympics will definitely not be held empty; third, athletes are encouraged to use vaccines, but they are not mandatory. Vaccines are not a prerequisite for hosting the Olympics.
These three principles set the tone for the Tokyo Olympics, and also let Olympic skeptics dispel the last doubt. The Olympic Games has also moved from the stage of "whether it can be held or whether it can be held on schedule" to the detailed preparation stage of "how to do it".
As many countries and regions, including Japan, are being hit by a new wave of epidemics, Bach’s visit to Tokyo to convey the message to the world that the Olympics will be held as scheduled requires a lot of courage. It demonstrates that the Olympic spirit has united mankind at a critical moment. The importance of together also emphasizes his own concept that "sports itself is one of the best epidemic prevention measures".
Of course, Bach’s continued postponement of visits has also marked that since the Olympic Games were postponed at the end of March, in the past eight months, between the IOC and the host, between the host’s internal institutions and organizations, and even the Olympics of various countries. The end of the game between the committee and the individual sports organization shows that everyone has abandoned their differences and finally reached a tacit understanding and compromise.
First, an agreement was reached within Japan. After the Olympics were postponed, different voices often appeared in Japan and within the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee. Even a vice chairman of the Olympic Organizing Committee publicly stated that the Olympic Games may be cancelled. The Japanese people’s support for the Olympics also increased significantly. The decline, coupled with the political fluctuations caused by the change of the governor of Tokyo and the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has made the Tokyo Olympics very bleak.
After taking office in September, Yoshihide Suga unified his internal opinions and declared that hosting the Olympics is the “top event” of the current government. The central government will lead the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee professionals to form a tripartite epidemic prevention committee to work together. Two days before Bach's visit, the five planned epidemic prevention meetings were concluded, and a basic framework was reached on epidemic prevention measures for the Olympic Games.
Secondly, an agreement was reached between the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee had disagreements with the International Olympic Committee on various aspects such as the payment of additional costs caused by the postponement of the Olympic Games. These differences were once made public, but in the end the two sides reached an agreement on the Olympic simplification plan. A great compromise was made. Even if the Tokyo Olympic Committee cut off the refreshment drinks for IOC members in order to save money, the IOC has expressed support for it, despite the huge expenditure of the Olympic Games. , This cost is just drizzle.
Third, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the individual associations have reached an agreement. In early October, Sebastian Co, president of the World Athletics Federation, became the first president of an international sports organization to visit Tokyo since the outbreak. After that, the host held a grand opening ceremony for the Olympic Aquatic Center, which will be the venue for Olympic swimming and diving competitions. Then, under the mediation of the president of the Japanese International Sports Federation, Watanabe Morinari, the four-nation invitational tournament named "Friendship and Unity Gymnastics" was successfully held in Tokyo. This was the first international competition held in Tokyo since the outbreak of the epidemic. The gathering of gymnasts from the three major Russian countries in Tokyo is a big victory for the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee in preparing for the Olympics, providing a successful template for hosting the Olympics under the epidemic. During his visit to Japan, Bach kept mentioning the important role played by this gymnastics competition.
Athletics, swimming and gymnastics are the three most important events in the Olympic Games with the largest number of gold medals. The completion of these three major events will also stabilize the basic game of the Olympic Games.
Fourth, the International Olympic Committee, the National (Regional) Olympic Committees and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee have reached an agreement. The most direct reason for the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics was the boycott statements issued by the Canadian and Australian Olympic Committees at critical moments. Bach and the chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee Yoshiro Mori recently addressed the heads of Olympic delegations from various countries and regions, achieving the role of uniting all countries and regions.
Therefore, Bach embarked on a trip to Japan under the condition that both internal and external conditions have been sorted out. The three principles he announced are the result of a natural outcome, but few people know about the arduous negotiations during the eight months. Although there are still more than 8 months before the opening of the Olympic Games, the whole world is still facing great uncertainty, but when his chartered flight leaves Japan, Bach can finally breathe a sigh of relief over Tokyo. (Finish)
