Due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 summer Olympics were rescheduled to be held in 2021. The Olympics are planned to take place in Tokyo, Japan and will begin on Jul. 23 and end on Aug. 8. 

The games will not look like they have in previous years. No international fans will be allowed to attend and if an international fan purchases a ticket it will be refunded immediately. The athletes are not required to receive vaccines to compete at the games but it is highly suggested for coaches and athletes to receive the vaccine according to the Tokyo 2020 Playbook. The athletes and coaches will be required to get tested 72 hours before departure for the games and will continue to get tested while at the games. 

“Almost every year [that the Olympics are on] I watch at least some parts of the games,” freshman Evelyn Gaertner said. “My favorite thing to watch during the summer Olympics is swimming and that’s why I’m on the swim team too.”

There has been some slight controversy on whether or not the games should be cancelled or postponed again because Japan has entered a state of emergency regarding COVID-19 numbers rising. Japan has entered their fourth COVID-19 wave and as a result, the games could possibly be cancelled yet again this year. The people of Japan are not happy that the games are still taking place according to The Guardian. They fear that it will make the situation worse and numbers will get higher than they already are. 

 “I feel like they could still continue to take place especially if everyone is wearing masks and social distance or has had the vaccine,” Gaertner said. 

Even though there is still a chance that the games will not take place, the Olympics is still one of the largest and most anticipated sporting events in the world according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was recorded that in the 2016 Olympics held in Rio that 3.2 billion people watched the Olympics online and 7.5 million people bought tickets to watch the games in person. 

“I usually watch the Olympics when there is one, my favorite event to watch is gymnastics. I was disappointed [when the Olympics were postponed last year] because I was looking forward to watching the games,” freshman Reese McCord said. 

The summer Olympics are said to have more popularity than the winter Olympics according to Topend Sports. This is because the summer Olympics were the first Olympics and they have more events that athletes can compete in. There are approximately 339 events and 33 sports in the summer Olympics according to Sports Time.

“I like to watch the summer Olympics because I am less busy during summer and I can watch more of the events,” McCord said. “I do wish that softball was a part of the summer Olympics because they surely can find a place to fit in.”