The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most aspects of “normal” life and our enjoyment of sporting events has been one of those aspects! Football (soccer for some people) is by far the most popular sport in the world and even minor disruptions …
can be devastating. Highlighting the force of the pandemic was the postponement if the highly popular (and profitable), Euro2020 finals by a full year to 2021! Understandably, given the circumstances weird arrangements had to be made with matches played at 11 host cities, with various (confusing), COVID19Safe rules applying, according to the location. Thankfully, the tournament has gone ahead and the quality of the football has been outstanding.
The all-important Euro2020 final between England and Italy will be played this weekend at Wembley stadium with 60,000 fans (75% capacity), in attendance! In similar fashion the Wimbledon tennis finals this weekend will be played in front of capacity crowds. This is definitely a testament to the availability of safe and effective vaccines.
Although there is still the danger associated with delta SARS-CoV-2 variants and potential super-spreader events, it is great to see sporting events (with crowds in attendance), finally making a comeback! It is an important step back to “normality”.
Apart from sports, blockbuster movies which had been pushed back due to the pandemic are also starting to be released. The all-important Marvel’s Black Widow was finally released a couple of days ago! Great movie and now we know what happened in Budapest between Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton! The post-credits scene alone was worth the wait! It’s going to be great – revenge, Hailee Steinfeld and many dramas to come!
In more sombre mode regarding sporting events, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (in 2021), which are scheduled to start in a couple of weeks (July 23), have had another setback. Overnight, due to rising cases in COVID-19, a state of emergency was declared by Japan. The games will go ahead but without spectators. Again this comes back to vaccination rates; as of today ~15.2% of the population is full vaccinated and the threat of the delta variant is just too high to risk. Nevertheless, given their lifelong sacrifices, it is good for the athletes to be given the opportunity to compete.
In the meantime, big sporting weekend especially for the UK, Wimbledon finals, Euro2020 finals at Wembley, and a Conor McGregor fight! Good luck to England and Forza Italia [I like both teams].
Until next time …