Tokyoites celebrate triumphant 2020 Olympic bid | The Japan Times
People are happy. I was in Georgia when Atlanta got the nod for the 1996 Games and I don't remember a reaction like this. Then again, I can't even remember when the IOC announced Atlanta. Prior to the 1992 Games, I guess. Well, judging from the images on TV last night, Japan is ready to throw an Olympics party in 2020. More than ready.
The three finalist cities each could have used this good news. It's an especially tough break for Madrid, which has missed out on three in a row now. I consider Spanish my second language (or at least Language 1.5) so there's an emotional connection there. I feel a little bit of the heartbreak being felt by everyone there who put in long hours and hard work in the hopes of attracting the Olympics. On the other hand, I live in Japan where the nation has weathered a major natural disaster and an ongoing human-made one as a result and I feel a very strong soul-connection here, too.
Now the real work begins. I would not want to live in Tokyo itself. Being roughly 200 miles away is close enough. The government has to build a lot of Olympics infrastructure and it's going to be very noisy and inconvenient in places around where they've planned the venues. Preparations will dominate news stories more and more as the opening date comes closer. Then two blazing weeks of hoopla. After that, the clean up.
There's no doubt in my mind Tokyo will put on some impressive games.
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