Should sporting events go ahead during the pandemic?

When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed last year, organisers promised to hold them this summer as a symbol of victory over COVID-19.

But with coronavirus cases rising, recent polls show 80 percent of Japanese do not want the Games to go ahead.

Japan’s government, meanwhile, has rejected reports that it is considering cancelling the world’s biggest sporting event.

Some sporting events around the world have resumed despite public health concerns. So should they be held when the pandemic is far from under control?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Dan Orlowitz – Sports writer, Japan Times

Gail Emms – 2004 Olympic badminton silver medallist

Simon Clarke – Associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading