Olympic Rings Back in Tokyo Bay; a Sign of Hope in Pandemic

The five Olympic rings are back in the Bay of Tokyo.

They were removed for maintenance four months ago, shortly after the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rings arrived Tuesday after a short cruise from nearby Yokohama and are positioned on a barge in the shade of Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge, reports UNB.

The rings—painted in blue, black, red, green and yellow—are gigantic. They are about 15 meters tall and 33 meters long—about 50 feet tall and 100 feet long.

The rings will be lighted at night and herald the coming of the Tokyo Olympics, which will open on July 23, 2021, followed by the Paralympics on August 24.

The rings made their first appearance early in 2020, just a few months before the Olympics were postponed till late in March.

The reappearance of the rings is the latest sign that the organizers and the International Olympic Committee are increasingly confident that 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be able to enter Japan safely during the pandemic.

These Olympics are sure to be like no other.

They will hinge partly on the availability of vaccines and rapid testing for Covid-19, and on athletes and other participants following strict rules that could involve quarantines, a limited number of fans in venues, and athletes leaving Japan shortly after they finish their competitions.

The organizers were vague about exactly how the Olympics would be held. Plans are in flux, with dozens of Covid-19 counter-measures floating, involving athletes, fans, and tens of thousands of officials, judges, VIPs, and media and broadcasters.

Protocols should become clearer at the beginning of 2021, when decisions need to be taken to allow fans from abroad to benefit from ticket sales revenue.

The meter continues to run on billions in costs, with Japanese taxpayers picking up most of the bills. Reports in Japan this week say the cost of the postponement is about $3 billion.