The Olympic flame continues since March 26 its course through the provinces of Japan.
Except in Osaka prefecture where due to an upsurge in Covid cases, the relay is limited to the perimeter of the park of the 1970 World's Fair, the public sometimes rushes to attend the celebrations, proof that the Japanese are starting to get down to Olympic time.
Without being (yet?) Really given the idea that from July 24 tens of thousands of foreigners - athletes, coaches, managers and journalists - will be in Tokyo for the opening of the Olympic Games.
In Osaka, Japanese fencing pioneer and OTA Olympic medalist Yuki wore the #OlympicFlame of @ Tokyo2020.
🔥
His career and his performances have greatly contributed to popularize this sport in his country!
👏🏻🤺🇯🇵 @ yuking1125 @ffescrime @FIE_fencing @jeuxolympiques
- # Tokyo2020 in French (@ Tokyo2020fr) April 13, 2021
According to the latest poll conducted from April 10 to 12 by the Kyodo News agency, more than 70% of Japanese people continue to want the event to be canceled or postponed again.
This is better than the 80% unfavorable opinion of the previous poll in January, but the heart is still not there.
The alarming health situation in some countries, particularly in South America, and the resurgence of certain variants will not reassure them.
READ ALSO>
Tokyo Olympics: "It's the competition of their life and we will not be there", regret those close to sportsmen
And yet, these Olympic Games version 2021 will be unlike any other in terms of excessiveness.
They will first take place without any foreign spectators.
Exit families, noisy supporters and even many leaders.
The public presence will be decided in the coming days.
Despite the epidemic, in Japan spectators were not driven from the stadiums, football and baseball matches take place with a limited number of supporters and one can imagine that it will be the same from July 23 to August 8.
With strict instructions since it will be forbidden to shout or sing.
From the public, even in limited numbers, it will have the merit of creating a little atmosphere and not adding a little more to the bill for the Olympics.
Even if 670 million euros in expected ticketing revenue is only a drop in the bucket in an overall budget now estimated at 12.5 billion euros (2 billion euros more than before the postponement).
48 hours to leave the Olympic Village!
The bill could climb a little more because according to Kyodo News, the organizing committee would have requisitioned a hotel with 300 rooms, not far from the Olympic village, in order to create a medical annex capable of accommodating athletes who tested positive for Covid-19 ( but asymptomatic) during their stay.
Whatever happens, the presence of the athletes in the village will be extremely limited, especially since they will have, once their event is over, 48 hours to leave the country!
If the vaccine will not be compulsory, during their stay they will be particularly forbidden to go to tourist places, restaurants, shops and to use public transport.
For the festive side, we will come back.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
In order to meet the requirements of the Japanese government, extremely keen to reassure its population, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which will specify all its health measures at the end of April, has agreed to revise quite clearly downwards the number of accreditations, the only sesame allowing entry into Japanese territory during the Olympic period.
While IOC members are asked to come without a wife (or husband) and children, the federations have also had to make some clean cuts among the leaders, guests and even coaches.
What, perhaps, gave a hell of a blow to the famous Olympic spirit.