Tokyo 2020 must be cancelled now – and not just for athletes' sakes

One of the most galling things about the coronavirus pandemic has been many institutions' deliberate slowness to act. Yesterday, the head of the Olympic organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, announced that he and his colleagues will continue to monitor the coronavirus pandemic for another four weeks before making a decision over the future of the Tokyo Olympics. On the same day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Thomas Bach, penned an open letter to athletes arguing that it “would still be premature” to make a decision which “would destroy the Olympic dream of 11,000 athletes.”

This isn’t good enough.

Many of the 11,000 athletes Bach talks about haven’t qualified yet, nor will they necessarily have the chance to, as world championships and other major international events are postponed indefinitely. Even if they do qualify, many won’t be able to train properly, as lockdowns are enforced around the world.

Athletes are rightly angry at the organisers’ indecision, and I’ve been impressed by those with big platforms speaking out on behalf of their peers. Governing bodies have added their weight to the conversation, with Canada and Australia now withdrawing their entire teams from the event.

I have been equally horrified by those defending the IOC, like World Athletics chief and Conservative peer Seb Coe has done.

“Let’s not make a precipitous decision when we don’t have to four months out,” the former middle-distance runner and Olympic champion told BBC Sport on Thursday. Coe has since changed his tune, but his resistance points to a woeful gap in the popular understanding of the games.

For there is a notable absence in the debates raging over the future of the upcoming Olympics. As Coe said, we are four months away from Tokyo 2020 – but what on earth does he think is happening between now and then?

Every conversation about the fate of the Olympics and Paralympics has focused on the athletes – it is no coincidence that Bach’s letter was addressed solely to them. No consideration has been given to the tens of thousands of workers heading to Tokyo imminently to get the games underway – and who urgently need a decision from the IOC. From caterers to broadcast engineers, this is an immense, indispensable and largely invisible operation – one the organisers are entirely discounting in their delay.

Of course, I hate to think how difficult a time this is for every sportsperson hoping to represent their country in the greatest show on earth. This summer should have been the pinnacle of many people’s careers, and now it almost certainly won’t. But by keeping the focus on the athletes, the IOC is giving a false impression that there is time to delay a decision – when there isn’t.

One of the workarounds that have reportedly been suggested to holding the games in the usual way is to hold events behind closed doors, with no attendees, allowing spectators to watch online. Yet this would require even more advanced preparation from Olympic broadcasting teams.

The IOC even have a documentary which showcases how extensive and complicated setting up the broadcast side of the Olympics can be. Perhaps their president should take a watch if he genuinely believes he has four weeks to spare.

I feel for the athletes, their coaches and families. I don’t think it’s fair to make them wait another four weeks for clarity. But I feel even more for the people involved in the set-up of the Olympics, many of whom will be putting their lives at risk, long before the athletes descend on Tokyo in July, to prepare for an event which is almost certainly going to be postponed.

I love the games, and wanted them to happen this summer. But it is clearly not in anyone’s interest for them to do so. Every week spent delaying the inevitable is a week of labour – much of it unseen labour – wasted