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Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

japantoday.com

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Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#161

Post by vl »

sandworm101 wrote: post #154
dleslie wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We badly needed the highway and transit improvements, too. Almost none of the new construction went to waste. There is/was a movement to make the winter olympics permanently fixed in a few northern cities, Vancouver being one of them, in order to prevent the wasteful fiascos that are witnessed from time to time. Obviously that was a non-starter. The enormous expenditure (and wealth transfer) of public funds is sort o…

>> We badly needed the highway and transit improvements, too There is much debate about this, particularly in regards to the Sea to Sky highway improvements. The old highway wasn't great, it was rough in spots, but the improvements have had unwanted effects. Making the highway easier means more people are doing day trip to whistler from Vancouver. Rather than stay in whistler people are staying at cheaper hotels in V…

I’m sure Whistler overall saw increase in business. And improvements to the road were long overdue. This “highway” was in disrepair with constant traffic jams.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#162

Post by elif »

book-sandworm wrote: post #46

This is such a painful situation for Japan. When I visited a couple a years ago the preparations were still going full force. They were so proud and looking forward to hosting it. Really think they are between a rock and a hard place with any decision. This together with all the sub-human conditions the workers in Qatar for the football world championship make it seem like organising events like this not something I…

I was in japan for the Rugby World Cup (late 2019) and i can say I am hugely relieved that Japan will not have to host olympic crowds.

Westerners looked at the lack of public trashcans and decided it was not their responsibility and simply leave trash everywhere. They smoked in non-smoking hotels. They turned public transit from a library into a pub. They ignored all queueing procedures. I even heard a scottish man brag that he never flushed a toilet the entire time in japan because he was "afraid of it spraying him if he pushed the wrong button"

I would imagine for most locals, they are extremely relieved to not have to put up with the same thing x 5

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#163

Post by coliveira »

sandworm101 wrote: post #131
book-sandworm wrote: post #46

This is such a painful situation for Japan. When I visited a couple a years ago the preparations were still going full force. They were so proud and looking forward to hosting it. Really think they are between a rock and a hard place with any decision. This together with all the sub-human conditions the workers in Qatar for the football world championship make it seem like organising events like this not something I…

>> make it seem like organising events like this not something I would feel comfortable with hosting in my own country. Vancouver Olympics 2010. No, it did not make a profit, and there was a fiasco involving how the athletes village was converted into condos, but the city did not go crazy over preparations. Most of the venues were already there. Whistler was already a winter sports mecca. Vancouver didn't need to bui…

The Winter Olympics is a different beast because, as you say, mountains are already there. But for a summer olympics you have to build a lot of facilities that will never be used again.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#164

Post by vl »

dleslie wrote: post #157
sandworm101 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> We badly needed the highway and transit improvements, too There is much debate about this, particularly in regards to the Sea to Sky highway improvements. The old highway wasn't great, it was rough in spots, but the improvements have had unwanted effects. Making the highway easier means more people are doing day trip to whistler from Vancouver. Rather than stay in whistler people are staying at cheaper hotels in V…

I, for one, am glad that Whistler is more accessible to those who could not afford the high prices of Whistler hotels. For most of my life skiing at Whistler was totally out of reach. The one or two of my peers who went yearly were among the wealthiest. Glad it's no longer an exclusive playground for Vancouver's wealthy.

Skiing by itself is very expensive (equipment and lift tickets). For Whistler there are cheaper options if you are staying not in the main village, basically price-wise it’s comparable to staying somewhere else and driving (and hotels in Vancouver are not that cheap in the first place).

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#165

Post by sandworm101 »

dleslie wrote: post #157
sandworm101 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> We badly needed the highway and transit improvements, too There is much debate about this, particularly in regards to the Sea to Sky highway improvements. The old highway wasn't great, it was rough in spots, but the improvements have had unwanted effects. Making the highway easier means more people are doing day trip to whistler from Vancouver. Rather than stay in whistler people are staying at cheaper hotels in V…

I, for one, am glad that Whistler is more accessible to those who could not afford the high prices of Whistler hotels. For most of my life skiing at Whistler was totally out of reach. The one or two of my peers who went yearly were among the wealthiest. Glad it's no longer an exclusive playground for Vancouver's wealthy.

It has become out of reach. In the 90s a seasons pass was expensive but reasonable. I had a "dual mountain" pass from back when it was two different mountains, back when harmony bowl was considered backcountry/out-of-bounds skiing. We were not wealthy and the mountain was a mix of different people. Now it is all uber-wealthy clients. The mountains seem to have more staff than customers. People who just want to ski on their own are being pushes aside for "mountain experience" clients who want guides and expensive food services. We used to bring a bagged lunch, sometimes eating out on the slopes in one of the secret spots. Good lunch doing that these days. There are no secret spots anymore.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#166

Post by jhugo »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #9

I feel like this has to be a negotiating tactic to get another year delay out of the IOC. The competitors and support staff alone are already tens of thousands of people, no? There’s just no way they’ll be able to throw the Olympics if they aren’t prepared to open the border.

Athletes and essential foreign workers would likely be allowed under existing expert/investment exemptions. It’s spectators that wouldn’t be able to enter.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#167

Post by gamblor956 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #131
book-sandworm wrote: post #46

This is such a painful situation for Japan. When I visited a couple a years ago the preparations were still going full force. They were so proud and looking forward to hosting it. Really think they are between a rock and a hard place with any decision. This together with all the sub-human conditions the workers in Qatar for the football world championship make it seem like organising events like this not something I…

>> make it seem like organising events like this not something I would feel comfortable with hosting in my own country. Vancouver Olympics 2010. No, it did not make a profit, and there was a fiasco involving how the athletes village was converted into condos, but the city did not go crazy over preparations. Most of the venues were already there. Whistler was already a winter sports mecca. Vancouver didn't need to bui…

Every LA Olympics so far has been profitable.

This is because LA generally reuses existing venues when possible, and almost all facilities built for the Olympics are designed with plans for post-Olympic usage.

For example, the LA Memorial Coliseum was built in 1921 as WWI memorial and was expanded for the 1932 Olympics a decade later. The Coliseum was not upgraded for the 1984 Olympics (though the track and field were upgraded), and the only two venue custom-built for the 1984 Olympics were the velodrome and swimming stadium.

The 1984 Olympics was one of the most cost-conscious Olympics ever held, and is still the most profitable Olympics. Like today, few cities wanted to host the Olympics due to cost concerns. Indeed, LA was the only remaining bidder by the time the decision reached the IOC (similarly, for the 2024 Olympics, Paris and LA were the only two bidders remaining, and LA was the only city willing to bid for 2028). The 1984 Olympics were almost entirely privately funded (thanks to Hollywood and other corporate backers). LA made significant use of existing structures, low-cost decorations, and was the first Olympics to truly take advantage of corporate sponsorships and television contracts. For example, the velodrome was funded by 7-11, and the swimming stadium was funded by McDonalds.

The forthcoming 2028 Olympics follows the blueprint set by the 1984 Olympics: reusing existing venues and infrastructure, to the extent that the only venues that will be created solely for the Olympics are the viewer stands for some of the outdoor events like bmx and canoeing. Extensive use of corporate and private sponsorship. Pretty much the only thing that requires government funding is the security, and the US federal government will be providing the bulk of that.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#168

Post by dleslie »

sandworm101 wrote: post #165
dleslie wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, for one, am glad that Whistler is more accessible to those who could not afford the high prices of Whistler hotels. For most of my life skiing at Whistler was totally out of reach. The one or two of my peers who went yearly were among the wealthiest. Glad it's no longer an exclusive playground for Vancouver's wealthy.

It has become out of reach. In the 90s a seasons pass was expensive but reasonable. I had a "dual mountain" pass from back when it was two different mountains, back when harmony bowl was considered backcountry/out-of-bounds skiing. We were not wealthy and the mountain was a mix of different people. Now it is all uber-wealthy clients. The mountains seem to have more staff than customers. People who just want to ski on…

The bag lunch, secret smoke spot crowds are all at cypress. ;)

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#169

Post by dleslie »

vl wrote: post #161
sandworm101 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> We badly needed the highway and transit improvements, too There is much debate about this, particularly in regards to the Sea to Sky highway improvements. The old highway wasn't great, it was rough in spots, but the improvements have had unwanted effects. Making the highway easier means more people are doing day trip to whistler from Vancouver. Rather than stay in whistler people are staying at cheaper hotels in V…

I’m sure Whistler overall saw increase in business. And improvements to the road were long overdue. This “highway” was in disrepair with constant traffic jams.

And deaths.

Re: Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators

#170

Post by stevegalla »

SonicTheSith wrote: post #138
h0nd wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, same source as original article: https://japantoday.com/category/national/Tokyo-reports-340-c... However, I just saw that the rate is for the whole country, not for Tokyo alone.

Even with the link, I am confused about where the 22% came from...

Control+F —> 22 yields this comment on the article:

“1,551 tests, 340 cases = 22% positivity rate

Apply it to the whole nation and you have theorically 28 millions people infected.”

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