The organizing committee of the postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has found from a survey that about 80% of people who had registered to give assistance as volunteers at the Olympics will do so next summer, officials said Saturday.
The results show the enthusiasm of the volunteers, and bolsters efforts of the organizing committee as it prepares for the Games, which was postponed for one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The organizing committee had anticipated that volunteers could withdraw their support because of concerns about the virus outbreak, or that their living conditions may change, such as finding a new job or moving to a different location by next summer. The committee began confirming the volunteers' intentions in July, when the new dates and venues for the Games were decided, and closed its questionnaire period for the Olympics on Aug. 20.
The survey covering the Paralympics is open until Sept. 14, and it is querying the intentions of all 80,000 people who will be working at the Games.
The organizing committee considered the need to recruit additional participants if there were too many who would decline to participate. However, considering that 80% of the people who would have participated this year expressed their intention to carry over their participation, the committee decided that increasing the number of days of activity per person would make up for the number of people who withdrew.
This is good news for the organizing committee, which is extremely busy in its efforts to simplify the Olympics and Paralympics, because it will save them the trouble of recruiting new volunteers.
A senior member of the organizing committee said, "We are very grateful for the high level of enthusiasm, and we will take measures against virus infections, so that people can work with no worries."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
