Delayed Olympics Leaves Hotels Deserted and the Economy in Limbo

The Olympic cauldron will remain unlit and its stadium empty on Friday as the virus-triggered postponement of the Tokyo Games leaves disappointed fans wondering if it’s still worth holding on to tickets and hotel operators fretting over thousands of vacant rooms.

Japan will still mark the day originally scheduled for the opening ceremony with a national holiday. But there will be little to celebrate amid continued uncertainty over the feasibility of a revamped staging of the Games next year.