Tokyo Olympics hit by president's sexist remarks and COVID-19 fears; 1000 volunteers quit

The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic last year had brought the sporting activities to a standstill which also included the biggest sporting spectacle — the Tokyo Olympics. Last year Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on March 24 that after his talks with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, the decision on the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics had been taken.

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Despite concerns over Japan's COVID-19 cases, the Tokyo Olympics are all set to run from July 23 to August 8 with organisers on Thursday read out a list of rules regarding health measures for the 10,000 torchbearers and others who are to take part, including fans. They also cautioned that changes to the route or runners could come without much notice.

The buildup to the event however had hit a major roadblock following reports about the Tokyo Olympics volunteers deciding to quit the Games after the sexist comments made by former Tokyo Olympics organising committee president Yoshiro Mori. According to the Japanese national daily Mainichi, Mori, while speaking in a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting on February 3, said that participation by women in board meetings made them 'drag on'.

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Tokyo Olympics volunteers resign

According to a report by Insidesport, organisers have said that about 1,000 Tokyo Olympics volunteers have quit over the past month, during which Mori quit the post and a new president was chosen to replace him. The organisers also said that not all those Tokyo Olympics volunteers who stepped down recently were quitting due to Mori’s comments, but as per the survey, they are repeatedly expressing concerns about Japan's COVID-19 cases. The report further states that another 30,000 volunteers have been recruited separately by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which was unable to immediately comment on how many have quit.

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The total number of volunteers recruited by Tokyo 2020 was 80,000 and organisers have said they don’t expect the Games to be affected since the number of volunteers quitting is only about 1% of the total. Mainichi in its report has stated that the organisers have said that roughly 390 resignations were received between February 4 and February 8, while the number had nearly doubled to 740 by February 11.

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Tokyo Olympics tickets

Speaking about purchasing Tokyo Olympics tickets, the organisers will let audiences know about the new ticket-buying procedures once there is more certainty on the event being held this year. For more information, one can browse tokyo2020.org/en/tickets

Image:  Olympics / Twitter