The 2020 Paralympic Games are to be held in Japan, and organizers and staff are being met with a huge problem: a lack of accessible hotel rooms.
According to The Guardian, British Paralympic officials were in search of hotels near their training camp in Yokohama. Not only did the hotels have a "total lack of interest" in hosting world-renowned athletes, but some hotels demanded they be paid to make the rooms accessible for athletes in wheelchairs.
Even worse: the hotels asked Paralympic officials to pay them to convert the rooms back to non-accessible rooms following the Games.
While Yokohama City authorities eventually agreed to pay for the accessibility modifications for the British's Paralympic team, the fact remains that there are not enough accessible hotel rooms in Tokyo for the Games. While athletes will be covered on their stay, fans, media and officials who have disabilities are going to have a hard time finding accessible rooms.
The Tokyo organizing committee claims that Tokyo has 700 accessible rooms, but an unnamed senior figure in a British sport says that in reality, there are probably less than 100 accessible rooms by European standards, as Tokyo hotels are generally smaller with narrower hallways and doors.
So, you have to wonder why would the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decide to host the games there?
The IPC claims that the Japanese government has passed laws that will make hotels have more accessible rooms, but those laws will only come in effect after the games have been held.
IPC president, Andrew Parsons said: "This is not a Games specific issue. There is an issue with the legislation in Japan when it comes to the number of accessible rooms. In hotels with more than 50 rooms, you have to have one accessible room. But it doesn't matter if that hotel has 500 rooms, it can still just be one accessible room."
"We understand this issue may bring some challenges to our partners, including journalists with a disability, but we have managed to work with the different levels of government to make something positive about this challenging situation and we hope this will be one of the legacies of the Games."
"While there is an issue with accommodation, everything else is going smoothly," he added. "And it has been really a pleasure to work alongside the Tokyo organizing committee and the government. They understand the challenges they have and even on this difficult issue, they are finding solutions. They don't deny they have a challenge or a problem. And I believe the Games will be absolutely fantastic."
Not all are as optimistic as Parsons. Another unnamed source in the Paralympic community said, "We have heard some hotels in Tokyo are making more rooms accessible for the Paralympics but are then planning on changing them straight back afterward. Where is the legacy there? There isn't one."
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