As the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics commenced on the 23rd, protests throughout the Japanese capital opposed what many considered to be a risky imposition during a global pandemic. This comes as Japan records over 5,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, a spike which saw spectators banned from Olympic events. This begs the question whether it was wise for the Japanese Government and the International Olympic Committee to continue with the Games. The simple answer is not one based on logic. It has its roots in the romanticism of sports as a uniting force and the need to distract billions from the devastation and gloom they are suffering.
The Modern Olympics were designed as a tool to bring together a world that had in recent history been fraught with war and hostility. Before the Coubertin-based Olympics run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in different cities every four years, Greek philanthropist Evangelos Zappas funded the revival of the Olympic Games in Greece inspired by romanticism of its ancient antecedent and with the aim of promoting the new Greek state. Originally, the Greek Government and King Otto were resistant to the idea of an archaic athletic competition being a tool to boost national morale and celebrate Greek heritage. They would shortly learn the power of sport in bringing out the passion of a population, even during times of instability and uncertainty. Only after the intervention of Panagiotis Soutsos, a journalist campaigning for 26-years to revive the Olympics, was it accepted that Games should proceed. Soutsos published about Zappas’ proposal in July 1856 and instilled a new excitement in the people of Greece that the Government could not suppress. Three years later, the Games opened to much fanfare.
While these original games were purely Greek-ethnic based and aimed to celebrate Greek culture, it was Pierre de Coubertin who understood the ability for the Olympics to be transformed into an international phenomenon to unite peoples from distinctively different communities. While the creation of the modern games was not without its controversies, it was an opportunity for a still somewhat fragmented world to unite in competition about a passion that transcends boundaries. At the first Modern Olympics in 1896, 14 nations descended upon Athens, mainly from Europe. By its centenary, this reached 197 nations and now encompasses 205 nations from all continents. It was Coubertin who wrote in his Olympic gold-medal winning poem from 1912:
“O Sport, you are Peace! You forge happy bonds between the peoples by drawing them together in reverence for strength which is controlled, organised and self-disciplined. Through you the young of all the world learn to respect one another, and thus the diversity of national traits becomes a source of generous and peaceful emulation.”
Albeit not well-known, Coubertin’s words encapsulate the feelings of many who committed to the advancement of the Olympic ideals, including during periods of hostilities. This was the sentiment of many nations which participated in post-war games, notably in Antwerp in 1920 and London in 1948. Antwerp was the first games which featured the Olympic Oath, the Olympic Flag (symbolic of the world unity through representation of all inhabited continents), and the release of doves to symbolise peace. After the Second World War, London was still in a state of economic devastation with rationing still being enforced. Known as the “Austerity Games”, they saw nations pull together for supplies in order to prepare London for the first major “athletic festival” since 1936. By the Helsinki Games in 1952, Japan and (West) Germany were invited back to compete while the United States and Soviet Union both participated in spirited competition together on a global stage.
It cannot be denied that the Olympics have also brought out the worst in society. While the Soviet Union and the United States both did compete alongside each other, they both boycotted the Games when they hosted them in 1980 and 1984 respectively over political disputes rooted in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The most horrific moment in Olympic history came in 1972 in Munich with the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer by Palestinian Black September terrorists. This put a permanent stain on the Olympic brand and its notion of uniting the world. Recent scandal has included doping by athletes that led to the Russian team being sanctioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2019 and being banned from all competitions for four years (with the sentence reduced on appeal to two years). Hence, the Olympics has the potential to do more harm than good and rile tensions.
Olympic costs have also begun to spiral out of control, with many questioning the necessity for such arguably exorbitant spending, especially during a global pandemic in which millions have been left unemployed and industries brought to a standstill. The last Summer Olympics, held in Rio de Janeiro, cost an estimated US$20 million. These costs raked up in a nation in which 8.5% of the population live in poverty, around 16.2 million people. We do not yet know the costs of the Tokyo Olympics, with projections constantly changing due to the unprecedented nature of these Games and the unforeseen costs. Currently, we can expect the Games to cost at least US$22 billion, double the original estimates. This has led to calls by cross-sections of civil society for more sustainable games as funds could be saved for development-based projects. While the next host nations have indicated they would adopt more sustainable models, this must be seen to be believed.
Even in scandal and with high costs, the Olympics have brought symbolic moments of solace and a glimpse at peace. At PyeongChang in 2018, the North and South Korean athletes again formed one team and entered the Olympic Stadium as one delegation under one flag. In a symbolic and unprecedented move, President Moon Jae-in shook hands with Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un and the first member of the Kim Dynasty to visit South Korea. While this was arguably a charm offensive and did not directly contribute to the peace process, it gave some hopes for a peaceful Korean Peninsula and greater collaboration between the hostile nations moving forward. Sports succeeded where politics and war have failed.
There are going to be many people who disagree with me. You will say I am naïve, an Olympic romanticist, and inconsiderate of those who are suffering. That is your right and to be honest I am always going to question the appropriateness of any major event during these times, including music contests like Eurovision, intergovernmental meetings like the G20 in Rome scheduled for October, and regional competitions like the Copa America. In this instance, my heart might rule my head. But like many of you who are also in lockdown and subjected to COVID-19 restrictions, the Olympics instils hope in me for the return of a normal world. It reminds of past glory and allows me to display patriotic zeal through my support of our athletes. As a child I have been enamoured by these events for what they can do for the feeling of aggrieved peoples, and during these times we need to utilise this athletic celebration to raise the spirit of the entire world.
Let me leave you with this quote from Ode de Sport to ponder as you question the necessity of the games:
“O Sport, you are Joy! At your call the flesh makes holiday and the eyes smile; the blood flows free and strong in the arteries. Thought’s horizon grows lighter and more clear. Even to the grief-stricken you can bring a healing distraction from their sorrows, while you enable the happy to taste the joy of living to the full.”
