ITF

Ipsedixitism. One of my favourite words. It describes asserting an opinion as fact without any real supporting evidence. It's possible I do this more than I should (I come from an argumentative family where it's exercised, fittingly, on Olympian levels). I've certainly indulged in some historical ipsedixitism regarding the Olympic and Paralympic Games, regularly pronouncing them the single biggest logistical challenge undertaken globally every four years. However, for once, with Tokyo, I might be onto something. There's certainly never been a Games like Tokyo 2020 and as a stand-alone logistical achievement (yet to be delivered, admittedly), I'm really struggling to muster a serious challenger. Where to start? Eleven years from the start of the bidding process. Seven years of construction, planning, and preparations. The equivalent of holding 46 individual world championships, at the same time, all (almost) inside one city, all at different venues, and all within 16 days. Now fly in 11,000 athletes from every country in the world, add a further 20,000 for their entourage, 25,000 media, 80,000 volunteers, plus a similar number of security, not to mention us, the international federations and all the technical officials we bring. Everyone wants accommodation, transport, food… and everything to run smoothly. And when it's all done and dusted and you've got your thumb on the cork, you do it all again three weeks later when the Paralympic Games get underway. Anyone who's worked a Games will tell you there's never been an "easy" delivery, but that's the nuts and bolts of it. And Tokyo had it all in hand. They were ready, described as the best- prepared in history, set to deliver a sumo-sized Games- extravaganza to out-do them all. And then, as we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and the world was turned upside down in devastating fashion. After a short period of evaluation, the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 moved remarkably quickly in announcing the Games would be postponed and take place exactly one year later, beginning with the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 23 July. It sounded simple but what it actually represented 20 Summer 2021 ITF World With Tokyo 2020 starting imminently, Alex Hughes, the ITF's Senior Manager – Olympics, Paralympics and Multi-Sports Games, tries to make sense of a year like no other TOKYO 2020: A LOGISTICAL MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB ALEX HUGHES ITF Senior Manager – Olympics, Paralympics and Multi-Sports Games TOKYO 2020

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