The Olympics

The Olympics

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News, information and stories about the Olympics.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

China Threatens UK, Australia and USA Over Games Boycott

The UK and Canada have the diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing concerns over China’s human rights record. 

The US, UK and Australia will “pay the price for their mistaken acts” after deciding not to send government delegations to the Winter Olympics, China’s foreign ministry has said. 

The United States, Britain and Australia have used the Olympics platform for political manipulation

said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry. Reuters reports.

China is not worried about a “domino effect” of diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics. “Most countries in the world have expressed support for the Beijing Winter Olympics,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news conference today. Reuters reports.

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Tuesday, December 7, 2021

US Diplomats Boycott 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

US diplomats are to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The White House said no official U.S. delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China’s human rights record, and “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.” U.S. athletes however have the government’s full support to attend the Games. BBC News reports.

China has threatened President Biden’s administration with retaliation over the diplomatic boycott and has warned that the move could harm bilateral relations. 

“The wrong move of the U.S. has undermined the foundation and atmosphere for China-U.S. sports exchanges and Olympic cooperation. It has shot itself in the foot. The U.S. should understand the grave consequences of its move,” 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a news conference. Zhao also said that China had made “solemn representation” to the U.S. and vowed to take “resolute countermeasures.” Nectar Gan reports for CNN.

 

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Monday, August 2, 2021

Plea For Asylum From Belarusian Sprinter

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Friday, July 23, 2021

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Show Director of Olympics Opening Ceremony Dismissed

The show director of the Olympics opening ceremony has been dismissed, one day before the event is due to be held.

Footage of Kentaro Kobayashi from the 1990s recently emerged in which he appears to be making jokes about the Holocaust.

Japan's Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto said the video ridiculed "painful facts of history".

All in all things are not going well for Tokyo 2020.

 

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Friday, July 16, 2021

The Covid Games - All a Bit Naff!

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Thursday, July 8, 2021

Japan Declares State of Emergency in Tokyo During Olympics

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the fourth state of emergency in the host city of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures to curb a rise in COVID-19 infections. 

Under the new restrictions, which will start on July 12 and run until August 22, bars and restaurants will be asked to suspend alcohol sales and workers will be asked to stay at home if possible. 

A decision will soon be made on whether spectators will be allowed at Olympic venues.

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Thursday, June 17, 2021

Tokyo Olympics Covid Rules Updated

Japan's government on Thursday approved lifting Tokyo's virus emergency just over a month before the Olympics, but set new restrictions that could sharply limit fans at Games events.

The state of emergency in place in Tokyo began in late April and largely limits bar and restaurant opening hours and bans them from selling alcohol.

What this will mean for the Olympics is: 

  1. The measures will slightly relax the rules on alcohol, allowing sales until 7:00 pm, but still asks restaurants and bars to shut at 8:00 pm.
  2. With just five weeks until the pandemic-postponed Games open, Tokyo is likely to maintain strict limits on the number of spectators allowed at large events.
  3. The current state of emergency allows only 5,000 people or 50 percent of venue capacity, whichever is smaller. And on Wednesday, the government approved an upper limit of 10,000 spectators for areas not under any restrictions. Those rules are likely to guide Olympic organisers when they decide in the coming days how many domestic fans, if any, will be allowed to attend.
  4. Overseas fans have already been banned from the Games for the first time, and organisers said they would wait to rule on domestic spectators until the emergency was lifted.
  5. Olympic organisers have given up on selling any more tickets and are weighing a lottery system to determine which ticketholders will be able to attend events, Kyodo news agency reported.
  6. Newly updated virus rulebooks released this week warn athletes they could be expelled from the Games if they violate requirements like mask-wearing and daily testing.Organisers say more than 80 percent of athletes will be vaccinated and they will be barred from interacting with the Japanese public.

 

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Friday, June 4, 2021

The Meaningless Games


 

Kaori Yamaguchi, a former Olympic medallist and executive board member of the Japan Olympic Committee, accused the IOC of ignoring public opinion, and said that Japan has been “cornered” into a situation in which it is “damned” whether it cancels or goes ahead.

She says that the Games have lost all meaning, and has called upon athletes to mutiny. 

"The games have already lost meaning and are being held just for the sake of them. We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not. ... But this also presents a good opportunity for athletes to confront the Olympics."

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Friday, May 28, 2021

Boris Backs The Olympics

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Tuesday, May 25, 2021

CDC Nixes Travel To Japan

Only two months to go until the Olympics, if they go ahead!

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Friday, May 7, 2021

Looks Like Olympics Are Off Again!

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Thursday, April 22, 2021

Taking a Knee Banned at Olympics


 

As per Reuters taking a knee during the Tokyo Olympics or lifting a fist in support of racial equality will be punished as the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday maintained its ban on athletes' protests inside stadiums, at ceremonies and on podiums.

The IOC's Rule 50 forbids any kind of "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" in venues and any other Olympic area and the Games body concluded the rule should be maintained following an athlete consultation.

 

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Tuesday, April 6, 2021

North Korea Pulls Out of Tokyo Olympics

North Korea has announced it will not take part in the Tokyo Olympics this year, saying the decision is to protect its athletes from Covid-19. 

This is not exactly unexpected, given that the North does not have "good" relations with Japan.

The decision puts an end to South Korea's hopes of using the Games to engage with the North amid stalled cross-border talks.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Let The Train Take The Strain - Radical ROK Proposal

 


NK News reports that South Korean unification minister Lee In-young said he wants to send the country’s athletes and cheerleaders to the 2022 Beijing Winter Games using a railway that would pass through North Korean land. The idea itself is more than a decade old, but with just 10 months until the Beijing Olympics, Seoul is gunning for sports diplomacy and other projects to improve inter-Korean relations.

“Depending on what we do, I think the door is still open for dialogue and cooperation.

The Ministry of Unification will do its best to create momentum for reversing [the direction of] inter-Korean relations during the first half of 2021.”

If agreed upon, the train would depart Seoul Station, head to the inter-Korean border station of Dorasan, cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and head towards North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang. After North Koreans get on board and join the South Korean delegation, the train would then head to Sinuiju — a North Korean city at the border of China — and then towards Beijing, where the Olympic games will be held. As Lee sees it, the ride could create a “very symbolic moment” in history.

However, this would require the approval of the USA.

Former unification minister Jeong Se-hyun supports the inter-Korean railroad, but said it likely won’t happen unless relations between Washington and Pyongyang improve.

“Picking North Koreans up and then going to Beijing together — that’s the dream.

But the most important factor here is the United States. Even if North Korea gets on board with the train … The final say on whether the train will be allowed through the Demilitarized Zone is with, unfortunately, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.”

 

 

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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Foreign Spectators Banned From Tokyo 2021 Olympics

 

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The Will They?, Won't They? Games

 

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Friday, January 22, 2021

The On Again Off Again Olympics


 

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2021 (Né 2020) Olympics Cancelled

Tokyo will focus on trying to win the right to host the 2032 Games.

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