1 To understand the Olympics, understand this. The International Olympic Committee is a sports business. Like NFL, NBA, it lives off selling broadcast rights. This is source of almost 75% of income. Another 18% from sponsors. It has two major events: Summer and Winter Olympics.

2 No Olympics. Little income. For this reason, it needs the Tokyo Olympics to happen, even if just for TV with zero fans. The cost for pulling this off falls almost entirely on Japan. The official cost for Tokyo Olympics is $15.4. Estimates suggest it might be twice that.

3 All but $6.7 billion is public money. Overall contribution by IOC is about $1.5 billion. Japanese pick up bills for most things including finding 10,000 medical workers to staff games. Unclear who pays bills if athletes or staff fall ill. Believe athletes need to sign waivers.

4 IOC has not-for-profit status in Switzerland. It says it distributes 90% of income back to sports bodies, who then dole out. Just finished a new headquarters at cost of $150 million. About 40% of all IOC income is from US network NBC. IOC and NBC in reality operate as partners.

5 All the contortions to hold Tokyo are driven by TV, like most sports businesses. Before all the commercialization, these Olympics would have simply been canceled. That is not possible now. To disguise this fact, IOC says the games are needed for the athletes. For global good.

6 Athletes love Olympics. Many are in obscure sports that do not get much general attention. So this is one shot. And many athletes go to only one Olympics. They will put up with difficult conditions. IOC knows this. As for Japan. It asked for these Olympics and now sucked in.

7 Japan must save face. Billions already spent that might have been better spent elsewhere. Too late now, and pandemic keeps meter running. Finally. China host to 2022 Winter Olympics. Japan does not want to fail and cede stage to Beijing. IOC also understands these geopolitics.