Hosting the Games 57 years ago helped transform Tokyo from ‘a polluted, fetid mess’ – this year’s contrast could not be greater

The Covid-19 legacy of Tokyo 2020 should be apparent in a matter of weeks. Some will seize on a modest, and expected, rise in cases to justify the decision to push ahead with the Olympics in the face of opposition from the Japanese people.

But any evidence that a sports festival has doubled as a virus super-spreader will see the Games associated with the Olympic movement’s rush to secure a colossal payday in the midst of a public health crisis.

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