What happened at the last Olympics? A look back at Tokyo 2020

While the eyes of the world will soon be upon Paris, we take a look back at the last summer Olympics, which took place in the Japanese capital of Tokyo, and marked the second time the city had acted as host after Asia’s first Olympics in 1964. 

Originally scheduled to be held from July 24-August 9, 2020, the Tokyo Olympics were, like other major sporting events, blighted by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move things back by a year. This was an unprecedented move. Previous Games throughout the years had been cancelled, but never rescheduled.

The postponed Games officially began on July 23, 2021, and concluded on August 8. Despite the delay, the event retained the Tokyo 2020 branding for marketing purposes. 

Impact of the pandemic on the Olympics

Undoubtedly, the pandemic had an immense impact on the last Olympics. Firstly, the athletes were massively affected. Restrictions made training difficult, and some had to try and keep up their usual training routine from home without the required equipment, facilities and support team. Some resorted to virtual training sessions where athletes trained together via Zoom. Not to mention the mental challenges they must have faced in isolation, like the majority of the population. It was a very different experience building into an Olympics.

The Olympics are a huge tourist attraction, drawing in spectators from all corners of the world. London 2012 had a massive turnout, with up to 180,000 spectators entering the Olympic Park every day of the Games, providing the arenas with an atmosphere like no other. 

In Tokyo 2020, that atmosphere was non-existent. Spectators were banned due to the pandemic, and for the first time in Olympic history, world-class athletes had to perform in front of eerily-quiet, empty stadiums. The most that could be heard were dystopian, pre-recorded cheers and the amplified sounds of the athletes competing.