«Quiet» Olympics in Tokyo and its preliminary results

The 32^nd Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in Tokyo in July-September 2021, had several important features, one being the events taking place amid the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It is not surprising that the Games were postponed for a year, the main events held without spectators, and the number of foreign visitors, officials, and support staff severely limited.

Nevertheless, the results of the sporting events were highly commendable. One should take note of the long list of participants from many countries, the variety of competitive events, and the number of world and Olympic records made. In addition, Japan recorded its best Olympic performance so far in terms of medals won. Measures to control the spread of infection also proved to be highly effective. Only a handful of cases were reported in the Olympic Village, and lack of transmission of the virus from the athletes to the volunteers and service personnel is proof of the effectiveness of the measures taken. It is not surprising that the Games' public perception in Japan gradually transitioned from negative to positive. The Games' economic benefits, however, need further assessment, as additional outlays for the implementation of antiinfection measures, ticket revenue loss, and some extra costs will likely mean lower economic benefits. Perhaps the most difficult task though is assessing what the Games symbolized. Tokyo's bid to host these Games was viewed as an effort to move on from the prolonged “lost decades,” a sign of recovery after the triple disaster of March 11, 2011, a way to showcase Japan's technological prowess, and a tool to improve the country's tourist destination image, among other things. Unfortunately, these aspects were poorly addressed during the Games, that is, the results of efforts made fell short of expectations.

Nonetheless, in spite of some initial skepticism, the final international assessments as well as public opinion in Japan turned out to be overwhelmingly positive. This indicates that the decision to hold the Games was correct, and the sporting extravaganza made a significant contribution to the Olympic movement.

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