February is the coldest month in Japan, though it is officially spring after the First Day of Spring in the beginning of this month, according to the Japanese lunar calendar. The day before the First Day of Spring is called the Last Day of Winter: this is not a national holiday, but a traditional bean-scattering ritual is held throughout Japan to keep out bad luck and misfortunes, and to bring in good luck. Tourists flock to famous shrines to see beans thrown at red and blue demons. These demons embody misfortunes, but since they are impersonated by people, it makes me wonder how we can include them, rather than exclude them, working for the ILO as I do.

This bean-scattering ritual is not a sporting event, but this month’s topic is the ILO’s involvement in mega sporting events that are held on ever greater scales and more frequently in recent years, such as the Olympics and the World Cups. A great number of workers both inside and outside Japan are involved in those events, as public procurement is conducted on a large scale from bid campaigns to post-event legacy throughout various industries, including the construction, tourism, service, textile, sporting goods, business transaction, security services, and waste management industries. Therefore, it is now required that these events contribute to long-term sustainable development regarding labour and human rights, not just the environmental issues.

The ILO actually had something to do with the Olympics from old. In 1921, just two years after the ILO was established, its first Director General, Albert Thomas met with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, to discuss the importance of sports and workers’ leisure, leading to the adoption of the Utilisation of Spare Time Recommendation in 1924 (No. 21), which was withdrawn in 2004 but stipulated the quality of life in sports and at workplace, among other things.

The ILO formed an alliance with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in the 1990s, to eliminate child labour in the production of soccer balls in Sialkot, Pakistan. Sialkot was home to the hand-stitched soccer-ball industry, which frequently used child labour in household production. This became a global issue when the European and the US media reported it. The FIFA banned the use of its official stamp on soccer balls produced using child labour, and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) signed the Partners’ Agreement with the ILO and UNICEFF, commencing a joint project to ban the use of children under the age of 14 in this industry. The FIFA and the ILO have been working together in the Red Card to Child Labour campaign since 2002.

The ILO also concluded a MOU with the IOC in 1998, subsequently offering advice and support on promotion of social dialogue, procurement and working conditions of labourers regarding the Olympics. It is also involved in the IOC’s sustainability strategy that was adopted in 2016.

According to the ILO’s survey on 250 sport related projects, it was revealed that sporting events helped improve the skills and social abilities of people involved, consequently contributing to enhancement of their employability and participation in the labour market.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games place a special emphasis on sustainability. The world will be watching if Tokyo can provide fruitful legacy for emerging or developing nations that are considering bidding for the Olympics and other mega sporting events. The ILO also needs to explore how we can contribute towards this purpose.