Questions Raised On Conducting Olympics Amid COVID Pandemic As Expenditures Touch $15 Bn

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Covid-19 cases have once again increased in Tokyo on Monday after the Olympic games came to a close. Questions are being raised about the expenditure incurred at Tokyo2020.

(File Photo)

Tokyo 2020: Olympics 2020 officially concluded and Tokyo has once again seen an increase in Covid-19 cases on Monday. Questions are being raised about the huge expenditure incurred on these games during this epidemic. Even after the end of the Tokyo Olympics, people are debating over whether it was right to conduct the event in midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. After the closing ceremony, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach stressed the strength of these games in connecting people around the world. The Asahi Shimbun daily, who was also a sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, believes that the games, which cost about Rs 1116 billion ($15 billion), were conducted at the cost of people's lives. 

Despite being the sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, The Asahi Shimbun daily had been demanding the suspension of the games from the beginning. According to a statement issued by the newspaper on Monday, "These Olympic games, held amidst the corona epidemic, were a great threat to the people from the beginning. Nevertheless, these were organized and things have now gone from bad to worse." 

56 percent of Japanese citizens wanted to host the Olympic Games 

According to a poll conducted in the past two days by The Asahi Shimbun daily, 56 percent of Japanese people were in favour of holding the Tokyo Olympics. While 32% were against its organization. According to the same poll, only 32% of Japanese believe that it was safe to hold the games, while 54% thought it was not safe to organize the Olympics during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

While Britain's Olympic Association described the Olympic games as a huge success, President Hughes Robertson said, "These games were held in a very challenging situation. Congratulations to the organizers who held a very successful Olympics even in these circumstances."