[국제][앵커리포트] Loss expected at least’trillion’ Tokyo…Olympic’s curse?

There is a saying that’the curse of the Olympics’. This is the case when the city that opened the Olympics is in debt or, if it is severe, the economic recession at the national level follows.

Montreal, Canada, which hosted the 1976 Olympics, is a prime example. Due to the lack of support from the central government and the terrorist issue just before the Olympics, we had to pay a lot of money for security. Only 30 years after the Olympic Games were able to pay off all debts.

It hasn’t been held yet, but Tokyo also mentions the possibility of an Olympic curse. Due to the global coronavirus outbreak, the decision to cancel the competition and not accept foreign spectators, the worries about’debt piles’ became a reality.

[토마스 바흐 / 국제올림픽위원회(IOC) 위원장 : 안전한 올림픽을 치르기 위해 어려운 결정을 할 수밖에 없다는 점을 이해해주시기 바랍니다.]

The Olympics are a place of unity for people around the world. In the past, the holding effect was great. If you paid well, you could expect various tangible and intangible benefits.

Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, previously held in the former Soviet Union and the United States, became the’half Olympics’ due to the Cold War, the symbol of harmony was greater.

Foreign tourists also increased significantly. This is a 24.8% increase from 1875 million in 1987 to 2.34 million in 1988.

The advertising effect of spreading the name of Korea, which was relatively unfamiliar to all parts of the world, could not be ignored.

This is the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Mario, a game character representing Japan, the next host country, appeared on the screen. Not only that, but the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared in Mario costume and became a hot topic.

Former Prime Minister Abe has insisted that the Olympics be held in full, not half, until a year postponed. The goal was to shout the declaration of an end to the coronavirus in the middle of Tokyo, saying that humanity has won the Corona 19, and to do this, it was said that a global audience was needed. With the decision to abandon the overseas spectators, the dream eventually became a fuss.

In the case of the Olympics, the percentage of overseas sales of all tickets is usually around 10%. However, if tourists think that the money they will spend in Korea disappears, the damage is severe.

Right now, in Japan, it is predicted that the damage caused by this decision will be at least 2 trillion won, and up to 16 trillion won will be incurred directly or indirectly if only the domestic spectators receive 50% of the stadium’s capacity.

There are also concerns that there will be noise when canceling tickets or hotels that are not obligated to refund at the organizing committee level.

[하시모토 세이코 / 도쿄 올림픽 조직위원장 : 도쿄올림픽을 찾는 해외 관중들이 숙소·항공 예약에 혼선을 빚지 않도록 최대한 빨리 결정하는 게 낫다고 판단했습니다.]

Losses from the Olympics must be taken care of at the’Tokyo’ level. It has already resulted in additional expenditures of over 120 billion yen and KRW 1.2 trillion in our money due to a one-year delay.

Although concerns about quarantine have declined relatively due to the abandonment of overseas spectators, quarantine of competition officials and reporters is also a big challenge for more than 15,000 athletes.

[호사카 유지 / 세종대 교수 : 일본 정부는 도쿄올림픽을 통해 경제 부흥, 후쿠시마 원전사고 극복, 코로나 극복을 목표로 내세웠습니다. 외국인 관광객이 들어오지 않기 때문에 그 홍보 효과는 굉장히 미흡하게 될 가능성이 커졌습니다. 목표의 3분의 1 정도밖에 달성할 수 없는 올림픽이 될 것이 아닌가….]

Ahead of the torch relay that begins on the 25th, we are trying to raise the atmosphere by lifting the corona emergency measures, but it seems clear that Prime Minister Suga’s strategy to support the regime with the Olympics has been disrupted.

It is an observation that it is the best scenario for now to thoroughly prepare so that the’non-face-to-face Olympics’ can be impressed and enjoyed, and to elicit a response that a new opportunity for an international event in Corona is prepared.

Park Gwang-Ryeol [[email protected]]

[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]