Why Doesn't Everyone Like the Olympics?

Posted by Thomas on February 26th, 2019

The euphoric moment when Britain won the right to host the Olympic Games in summer 2020 is still fresh in the minds of most Tokyo Authorities and was celebrated with a tumultuous storm of applause by the ministers in anticipation of tourist boom. So why do the critics remain sceptical about the success of the event?

Tokyo is officially the first city to officially host modern Olympics three times, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948. Hundreds of tourist campaigns have been launched abroad with audacious slogans "You’re invited" to attract sports fans from all over the Globe. Just like any other country in the past which had been honoured to host this special event, Japan is holding high expectations of the upcoming summer. But the European Tour Operators Association (also known as ETOA) is not prepared to share the enthusiasm. Ever since 1992 Barcelona Games, host-countries witnessed a rapid fall in foreign guests during each Olympics. In Athens, hotel bookings in summer 2004 were almost 29% lower than a year earlier, not to mention the 39% decrease for Beijing in August 2008 which is believed to have significantly undermined the Chinese tourism industry.

With the preparations for the Games well underway, the city’s authorities are worried about covering the development costs of almost £9 billion, while trying to make sure that the city lives up to the guest’s expectations. “So far signs have not been looking very encouraging,”- comments a representative of an independent research group.

According to an independent research group funded by ETOA the current bookings for the Olympics are a fifth lower than at this time last year. Some experts suggest that one of the major off-putting factors could have been the rumours about possible terrorist attacks planned for 2020, similar to the infamous Tokyo bombing of 2005. And although currently MI5 are preparing for something what one source calls “a monstrous challenge of scale and speed”, many local residents -not to mention foreigner visitors- preferred to watch the ruby fortune casino canada Games from a safe distance on their TV screens. The likelihood of overcrowding and the official’s appeal asking people to hoard goods, walk, cycle or stay at home to ease congestion reinforces the notion.

Some economists are worried over the severe congestion and traffic diversion. The organizers have guaranteed that the nine-mile trip from central Tokyo to the Olympic Park will take no longer than 25 minutes, which required including extra 109 miles of Tokyo roads and lanes to operate as a special Olympic network. In turn this will involve closing many pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes which is unlikely to encourage ordinary Tokyo people to switch to “greener” means of transport and help ease congestion. A combination of these factors could have a severe knock-on effect on businesses and significantly reduce the overall productivity of the labour-force.

This however does not mean that the event will turn out to be a commercial disaster. A third of Tokyo’s hotel rooms are believed to be booked by the Olympic organisers for athletes, officials and media. Nevertheless Tokyo’s geographical location and the status of the most visited city in Europe, suggests that the visitors are unlikely to remain there long. The past three games have shown that more people stayed for longer in Sydney and Beijing-both long-haul flights-than they did in Athens.

It is worth mentioning that out of the 3.5 million tickets sold so far, British residents make up approximately 95% of this number and are hence likely to by-pass a lot of the city’s “extras” in forms of hotels, souvenirs and cultural offerings.

Despite all the possible downsides, the event is likely to have a large positive impact over the longer term which needs to be recognised: improved infrastructure. In the past few years, the recent landscape and physical developments have dramatically transformed the poorer East End of London, and are meant to leave a lasting mark which will hopefully benefit the local community in a form of new housing, shops, hotels and offices. Newham -part of Eastern London that is currently undergoing development- is believed to have the highest rate of unemployment in the city and the authorities are hoping that the recent developments will help to gradually decrease the number of unemployed and improve the life quality in the area.

Whether or not hosting the Olympic Games has been a worthwhile choice for Tokyo, we are yet to see. While critics remain sceptical, the organizers seem to be fairly confident about the success of the event, aspiring that the long-term benefits will eventually outweigh the short-term two-week inconveniences and possible drawbacks.

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Thomas

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Thomas
Joined: February 26th, 2019
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