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TOKYO – More than 110,000 Olympic volunteers had the summer of their dreams planned for 2020. But now, with the Games postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and for many who still have doubts, they are left waiting in limbo, with their lives on hold.
Hiromi Yamamura and others looked forward to making friends from all over the world in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, the unrecognized backbone of any Olympiad, its volunteer corps, have had to recalibrate lives, suspend vacations, or return to their home countries and seek part-time jobs in Japan so they can still volunteer.
The volunteers acknowledged that their uncertainty was small in the face of the brutal global cost of the pandemic, but it is taking its toll nonetheless. Although organizers vow that the Games will go ahead as rescheduled this summer, some are nervous and pondering the changes in plans.
“I’m actually hesitating about participating now,” said Yamamura, 40, who lives in southwestern Japan, far from Tokyo.
“Getting to Tokyo is expensive and, thanks to the pandemic, my finances are unstable. But the main reason is that it is very difficult to stay motivated in this unclear situation. “
Approximately 80,000 people were recruited by the Tokyo 2020 organizers, another 30,000 by the Tokyo government and more by local administrations, to handle everything from translating and guiding people to taking visitors and managing the venue. A rich part of the Olympic tradition, they range from college students to retirees and hail from all over the world.
Some 1,000 of the 2020 organizer’s volunteers have resigned, while the Tokyo side has seen fewer than 200 leave, none of which, officials say, will have any impact on the organization of the Games. Several hundred left due to sexist comments from the chairman of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, but after he resigned, some wanted to return.
‘MIXED SIGNALS’
Organizers insist that all systems work, but the signals are mixed, say volunteers interviewed by Reuters. Organizers have emailed foreign volunteers detailed schedules, but have later been told to check if they can enter Japan amid strict pandemic immigration rules.
The organizers of the games said volunteers know when they apply to take part that they must handle the logistics themselves, but suggestions are available on the Tokyo 2020 website. They say they cannot yet confirm how many will come from abroad.
Email communications from Olympics organizers have also dropped dramatically compared to last year, volunteers say. Organizers say they have provided volunteers with regular updates since the postponement last year, and that email communication will increase as the Games approach.
Last year’s Games were postponed to the end of March, just before the torch relay began, a precedent that means many see the start of the torch relay scheduled for this year, on March 25, as a moment. key code.
“I had a whole life planned … and then after the Olympics, I would finally go home and start a new life,” said a 36-year-old Canadian English teacher in southwestern Japan, who declined to be identified citing sensitivities around their work situation.
“I’m still here and in limbo, not knowing exactly what to do,” said the teacher. “I put all my eggs in a basket that leaked through my fingers.”
By this time last year, she was rearranging work and booking trips to Tokyo, magnified concerns for volunteers abroad that Claire Dawn-Marie Gittens, 39, a Rio 2016 Games volunteer returning for the 2020 Games , understands.
“When I booked for Rio, the ticket prices changed from day to day,” said Gittens, a longtime Barbados resident of Japan. “Then make sure you find a place to stay … People should get to work on this.”
When asked if the Olympics could reduce the number of volunteers, the organizers said they will monitor conditions to carry out safe and secure Games.
If the Olympics do take place, they can be muted compared to the fun that many volunteers anticipated.
“They tell us that hospitality has to change, so there is not much direct contact (with the spectators),” said Sawako Anada, a 47-year-old physical therapist in Kawagoe, a city near Tokyo that will host golf.
“You hold a large card that can be seen from a distance and you gesture, you physically convey your welcome in that way … They tell us to ‘be friendly from afar.’
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Edited by Kenneth Maxwell
