LET THE GAMES (KIND OF) BEGIN

Non-starter. Super-spreader. Necessary for world morale. Irresponsible during a pandemic. They have barely started, and already the Tokyo Olympics have gone down in history. An opening ceremony in front of an almost-empty stadium was a reminder that the world ain't what it used to be (as if we needed a reminder...)

At a cost of a reported $26 billion, the Olympic Games went full steam ahead. Over 11 000 athletes from 205 countries will compete for 5000 medals across 33 sports. So, if each athlete were to win one medal every 1.5 days... just kidding. There's a Maths problem in there somewhere, but this isn't it.

The Tokyo 2020 logo was hailed by designers as the most perfect logo of all time. The 2s and the 0s transfigured into the Olympic rings in perfect balance and symmetry... but then the Olympics didn't happen in 2020, so there went that idea. It was probably a financial decision not to change the name to Tokyo 2021 - considering all the reprinting of material - but it would be nice to think that the decision was in fact made to honour the perfection of impeccable design work.

Speaking of design, here's a random fact for your next cocktail party (whenever we're allowed to go to those again): in 1912 the Olympic Games Committee included an art competition as a competitive event. According to the history books, painters and sculptors battled it out for the same type of medals awarded to the athletes. It seems there was an eligibility issue that caused the art category to be scrapped in 1948. Apparently, they could never quite figure out whether the contest was aimed at "amateurs" or "professionals" - and how those categories were defined exactly.

Still on the subject of aesthetics and design, it's strange to think that Olympic athletes of Ancient Greece competed naked. Not strange because they ran and jumped with no clothes on, but because branding and sponsorship are so critical to the sports industry today. How did the big brands get athletes to endorse them, when there were no uniforms to plaster with sponsors' logos?

Onto other random facts, 72 countries have never won medals. And having competed 20 times with no wins, Monaco holds the record as the Glenn Close of the Olympic Games (while the actress holds the Oscar record for 8 nominations and no wins).

Also, the Olympic torch has been to space. It's not clear why exactly, or whether the trip was paid for by the blood and sweat of employees working for a giant online retailer. Jeff Bezos said they "paid" for his trip, after all, so it might be a fair assumption.

And before we know it, the Games will be headed to Paris, then Los Angeles and then Brisbane. Who knows where the world will be in four years, or eight, or twelve? Wherever we are, maybe we'll need a distraction just as much as we do now. So then, back to that Maths problem...