Paris will show value of hosting Olympics, says Tokyo Games chief

TOKYO – Paris will remind people of the value of hosting the Olympics, says a top official of the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were delayed by a year because of Covid-19 and tainted by corruption.

Seiko Hashimoto, who was president of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, told AFP that the Japanese public were bitterly split over hosting the Games during the pandemic.

A corruption scandal had also "soured" the Olympics' image in Japanese people's minds, she said.

But Hashimoto hopes Paris can showcase sport at its best this month and make people in the French capital happy that their city is hosting the event.

"I hope every single person will understand the value and importance of hosting the Olympics in their own country," said Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian.

"If this serves as an opportunity for people to think about what the Olympics and Paralympics mean to them, it will be something that benefits future generations."

Hashimoto admitted that many people in Japan questioned why the country went ahead with the event during the pandemic.

The Tokyo Olympics were held under strict anti-virus rules, with spectators banned from most venues and street festivities scrapped in order to minimize the risk of infections.

The lucky fans who were allowed in were forbidden from cheering and required to wear masks at all times.

Looking back, Hashimoto said organizers could have allowed venues to be 50% or 60% full of spectators.

But she said the decision to bar them was the only realistic option at the time.

"We argued over and over again that we could host it safely, but no one listened," she said.

"Conversely, had we given in to pressure and cancelled the Games, I think people would have said, 'Why didn't you work harder and think of ways to hold the Olympics?'"

Hashimoto finds solace in the fact that some children were invited into venues through special programs.

She says without hesitation that hosting the Games was "the right decision".

"I believe the Tokyo Games left their mark in that we were able to show we could respond to various demands and still move forward with the project," she said.

"For better or worse, we hosted the Tokyo Games. Maybe there were some