A huge majority of Americans (83%) say postponing the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was the “right decision,” according to a new Axios|SurveyMonkey poll. Yet, the public is split nearly evenly (47% vs. 50%) between those who approve and disapprove of the decision to hold the Olympics now, while Tokyo remains in a coronavirus state of emergency and the pandemic continues worldwide.
- Last year’s decision gets cross-party support: 92% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 76% of Republicans say it was the right decision to postpone the 2020 Games
- Democrats tip more towards disapproving of the decision to hold the Olympics now (41% approve, 58% disapprove)
- Republicans (52% approve, 47% disapprove) and independents (55% approve, 45% disapprove) tip more towards approval
Six in 10 Americans (60%) say Olympic athletes should be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to compete.
- Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to support requiring vaccinations (84% vs. 41%), no surprise given Democrats’ greater willingness to get vaccinated themselves (SurveyMonkey's current estimates, through July 18, have 84% of Democrats, 60% of Republicans, and 55% of independents saying they have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine)
- Support for requiring vaccinations is particularly high among seniors: 57% of adults age 18-34, 56% of those 35-64, and 74% of those 65+ support the athletes’ being required to be vaccinated
- Two thirds of Americans (66%) say a COVID outbreak among athletes is likely to occur at the Olympics; slightly fewer (59%) say a COVID outbreak is likely to occur among the general public as a result of the Olympics
- Most Americans (66%) say they approve of the Olympics committee’s decision to ban fans from attending this year’s Olympic events
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
