Tokyo 2020 organisers will host celebrations marking the one-year countdown to the Olympics tomorrow but with the postponed Games still shrouded in uncertainty, they are sure to be more muted than the first attempt 12 months ago. Even six months ago, when fireworks exploded over a giant, luminous set of Olympic rings in Tokyo Bay, organisers were still bullish that their huge financial investment would deliver an unforgettable Games. What has yet to be decided is how much rearranging the Games is going to cost the Japanese taxpayer. A recent poll conducted by Kyodo News found that fewer than one in four favoured holding the Games as scheduled next year. A third believed the Olympics should be postponed again—which Bach has warned is not an option— with another third wanting the Games cancelled outright.

Source: The Star July 21, 2020 20:15 UTC