Hey, today in RED we will
approach sports and big sports event, and how are they dealing with Covid. I’ll start by presenting myself a little. I am Vanille, and I am in my 2nd year of event manager school, and today, I
will be with you for about 4 minutes on podcast for the radio.
It doesn’t
take a genius to note that 2020, and 2021 so far, have been pretty rubbish when it comes to getting together and doing awesome things as a group. Like attending music concerts, going to big
football matches, sharing the experiences with our friends and with those around us. It feels like a decade since we last did anything like that, rather than a year or so.
As the
virus spreads across the globe, sports bodies are cancelling or postponing events.
We will
talk about the past first. In fact, we will begin by talking about the unfolding of sporting events before the arrival of the covid.
Basically,
sporting events were always done with an audience, regardless of the sport, the popularity of the event or even whoever was present. There was always an audience to cheer on the
athletes.
No health
measures were put in place before the covid. The events unfolded on a logical way: the sportsmen whatever sport happened before the competition, get ready, the match, the competition took place,
then they went home.
At the
moment, with the covid, major sporting events such as the Champions League, Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Liga, Bundesliga, Giro d'Italia, Formula 1, Top 14, NBA are canceled or postponed.
Some are done behind closed doors.
For events
that are maintained, many health measures are in place such as wearing a mask which is almost compulsory everywhere now. Hydro-alcoholic gel is applied throughout the event so that athletes and
accompanying persons can disinfect their hands. Also, for amateur or pro level competitions PCR tests may be requested depending on the importance of the competition.
I will now
take an example: Olympic Games. The Olympics were postponed for a year, an unprecedented decision announced in March as the coronavirus spread across the world. The Olympics are now scheduled to
be held in 2021, July 23 to August 8, and the Paralympics, August 24 to September 5. Polls show that a majority of Japanese believe the Games should be further postponed or even canceled. And
more than 60% of domestic sponsors have yet to commit to extending their contracts for another year, Japanese media reported last weekend.
I am a
horse rider, I am now going to talk about how horse riding event are taking place with the covid. First, horse riders are allowed not to wear a mask while riding, but they need one when they get
off. Since October, all horse riding events and competition are cancelled, even amateur and pro ones. None of them are happening behind closed doors. Horse riding event manager are very angry
with the government because all competition are cancelled. They think, and its in my opinion too that amateur and pro competition is very important for some riders. Some of them need to stop
their career because of the stoppage of the competitions.
To finish,
I am sad for the athletes, but also for the event project managers who take care of sporting events. Although there is more to life than sport, it is a part of the lives of the most people on
earth. For some, sport is a hobby, for others it is their career.
