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Tokyo Olympics: A success? A failure? And how to judge?

FILE - In this July 14, 2021, file photo, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his courtesy call at the latter's official residence in Tokyo. How are we to judge the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics when they wrap up in two weeks? It's a straightforward question but it's difficult to answer. That's because there are many interests involved. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this July 14, 2021, file photo, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his courtesy call at the latter's official residence in Tokyo. How are we to judge the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics when they wrap up in two weeks? It's a straightforward question but it's difficult to answer. That's because there are many interests involved. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP, File) FILE - In this July 14, 2021, file photo, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his courtesy call at the latter's official residence in Tokyo. How are we to judge the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics when they wrap up in two weeks? It's a straightforward question but it's difficult to answer. That's because there are many interests involved. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP, File)

By STEPHEN WADE / AP Sports Writer 6 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Will it be a success? A failure? Or none of the above?

It will take something much more nuanced than those basic notions to access the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics when they wrap up in two weeks. The response will be twisted by dozens of parties with their own interests.

There’s the International Olympic Committee. The 11,000 athletes. The Japanese organizing committee. The Japanese public. The absent fans.

And how about the sponsors? Or the Japanese government and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. There is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Governor Yuriko Koike, who has higher political aspirations. The Tokyo medical community. And television rights holders like American television network NBC.

Just getting through it will be cast as a success by many. This may be the spin no matter what happens, particularly for the IOC, its broadcast partners and Japanese media. A half dozen newspapers in Japan are domestic sponsors and have a vested interest in portraying the Games positively.