Japan has long been regarded as a dependable host of major sporting events, but organisational troubles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games have tarnished that reputation and raised doubts about the country's appetite for future mega-events, experts say.
With the Games closing on Sunday, the catalogue of mishaps has been long: athletes bussed to the wrong venues, the North Korean national anthem played for the South Korean hockey team, and too few beds for more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a larger group than the Olympics serves. Several national teams complained of being stranded for up to six hours at the airport on arrival.
'Like musical chairs'
In a bid to save money, the organisers dispensed with a traditional athletes' village. Participants were instead accommodated on a cruise ship, in hotel rooms and in temporary wooden huts. Some teams complained the wooden units were too cramped and the beds too short. "It's like musical chairs," one Thai official said, describing the organisation as "chaotic".
Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, was unsparing: "If I were to give them a grade, it would be an F." Japanese Olympic Committee president Seiko Hashimoto acknowledged that "there were many problems," while insisting the country still wants to host more international events.
Olympic hopes at stake
Hirokazu Arai, a professor of sports psychology, told AFP that Japan may struggle to shake off the shadow of these Games. "If Japan were to bid for the Olympics again, trust in Japan may have fallen and it might be harder to win a bid," he said, adding that anger over the graft-stained, pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics could flare up again.
Japan had already dropped the idea of hosting the Winter Olympics in Sapporo because of a lack of public support. Hashimoto, who also headed the Tokyo Olympics organising committee, has suggested the bid could be revived — but Arai believes the Asian Games have damaged Japan's image as a safe pair of hands. "The people at the top of Japan's sporting world are moving towards trying to bring the Olympics here again," he said. "But this situation could cause that criticism to intensify again."
Sources:
Philstar: 'Chaotic' Asian Games threaten Japan hopes of hosting Olympics again (AFP)
With the Games closing on Sunday, the catalogue of mishaps has been long: athletes bussed to the wrong venues, the North Korean national anthem played for the South Korean hockey team, and too few beds for more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a larger group than the Olympics serves. Several national teams complained of being stranded for up to six hours at the airport on arrival.
'Like musical chairs'
In a bid to save money, the organisers dispensed with a traditional athletes' village. Participants were instead accommodated on a cruise ship, in hotel rooms and in temporary wooden huts. Some teams complained the wooden units were too cramped and the beds too short. "It's like musical chairs," one Thai official said, describing the organisation as "chaotic".
Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, was unsparing: "If I were to give them a grade, it would be an F." Japanese Olympic Committee president Seiko Hashimoto acknowledged that "there were many problems," while insisting the country still wants to host more international events.
Olympic hopes at stake
Hirokazu Arai, a professor of sports psychology, told AFP that Japan may struggle to shake off the shadow of these Games. "If Japan were to bid for the Olympics again, trust in Japan may have fallen and it might be harder to win a bid," he said, adding that anger over the graft-stained, pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics could flare up again.
Japan had already dropped the idea of hosting the Winter Olympics in Sapporo because of a lack of public support. Hashimoto, who also headed the Tokyo Olympics organising committee, has suggested the bid could be revived — but Arai believes the Asian Games have damaged Japan's image as a safe pair of hands. "The people at the top of Japan's sporting world are moving towards trying to bring the Olympics here again," he said. "But this situation could cause that criticism to intensify again."
Sources:
Philstar: 'Chaotic' Asian Games threaten Japan hopes of hosting Olympics again (AFP)
