Covid has had a huge impact on all sport, particularly at grassroots level. It will be no surprise if many clubs and teams fail to survive the lockdown. My former rugby club is already fearing that after more than a year away, players will have found other things to fill their evenings and weekends. At the other end of the spectrum, professional elite sport has continued, albeit largely behind closed doors. It’s likely the devastating financial impact on professional sport will become apparent in the coming months. There is however, one sporting event that is too large to fail. As far as the Olympics are concerned, the biggest show on earth must go on.

Two world wars have been the only interruptions to the four-yearly modern Olympic schedule. The pause button may have been pushed for 2020, but with less than 100 days to go and in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, the rearranged Olympics and Paralympics are under starter’s orders. Further proof that the Olympic ideal has been lost and no longer driven by athletic competition and excellence, but money and political prestige. The 2020 Games were already on track to be the most expensive ever. The predicted price tag of $15 billion is reckoned to be a significant underestimate, while Covid precautions are likely to add several billion more. Recent surveys suggest that up to 80 per cent of Japanese people are against the Games going ahead. Perhaps not surprising, as their children and grandchildren will still be footing the bill many years from now. Montreal took 30 years to pay off its debt from 1976.

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The financial imperative clearly trumps health concerns. Japan may not be a Covid hotspot, but significant restrictions have been introduced to head off what the prime minister calls “an epidemic” in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa. Vaccination is proceeding only slowly. Even in the absence of overseas spectators, there is likely to be an influx of around 15,000 athletes and officials. All will require to be tested but nevertheless, a surge in cases is more than likely. The virus and all its variants love air travel.

Of course, one feels for the athletes who have invested so much in preparing for Tokyo; but what sort of experience are they going to have? Competitors in the Australian Tennis Open practising in their hotel rooms sticks in the mind. It’s unclear how many Japanese spectators will be allowed to attend the events. Competing in empty stadia and arenas is not what the competitors signed up for. Without public participation, the Olympic torch relay has already been an anti-climax. A further year’s delay would probably have been been impossible. There’s no guarantee that Covid will have been eliminated worldwide by 2022 and Paris is already gearing up for 2024. The kindest solution would have been to pull the plug, but despite being insured, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has billions of dollars at stake. Consequently, cancellation wasn’t going to be a runner either.

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Perversely, Covid could have presented an opportunity to restructure the Games. Despite the relative success of London 2012, the Olympic circus has become too expensive, too corrupt, too political and above all, too big. The bidding process is tainted by accusations that members of the IOC have been influenced by largesse including cash, gifts and entertainment. Commercialisation has turned the games into a bonanza for television companies, advertisers and corporate sponsors. Competition has been tainted by cheating and drug misuse, some of it state sponsored. Leading athletes are richly rewarded for endorsing products only tangentially connected to sport. The number of events has got out of hand. “Sports” have been added that have no place at the Olympics; golf for example. In reality golf is an enjoyable pastime taken up when too old or infirm to participate in real sport. On arrival from Marathon, Pheidippides didn’t gasp out, “I’ve just invented a game in which you use assorted sticks to put a wee white ball in a hole”. Mind you, legend has it his dying word was “Nike”, so sponsorship might have been an issue as far back as 490AD. But It’s not just golf. Are the Olympics the right platform for baseball, climbing, surf and skateboarding? Aren’t there enough international competitions already for tennis, soccer, rugby and yes, golf? On a good day, I could make a case for darts. Afterall, it’s similar to the javelin and, as commentator Sid Waddell famously observed, “Jocky Wilson – what an athlete.”

While we’re at it, why not remove all sports/activities that require expensive equipment, thus disadvantaging half the world? Not too many locals on the Kenyan Highlands own pricey bicycles, thoroughbred showjumpers or laser class yachts. That’s why they dominate the events that rely on unaided athleticism. It’s difficult to argue against UK Sport’s decision to reduce funding for the so -called “posh sports” including equestrianism, sailing and rowing. It’s more difficult however, to go along with the intention to “better represent our society” by increasing funding for “sports” such as breakdancing. I’m not knocking the energy and fitness levels involved, but does it belong in the Olympics?

The pandemic offers an opportunity to strip the Olympics back to a basic core of athletic competition that sits comfortably under the Swifter, Higher, Stronger motto. If other activities are considered desirable, competition could be spread over longer periods and a greater number of countries, easing the crushing burden on a single city. The European football championship is already shared by several countries. It won’t be easy to overcome the vested political and commercial interests that have appropriated and debased the Olympics. Anyone who succeeds, deserves a medal.

Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Herald.