Waiting for Tokyo: How 110,000 Olympic volunteers put their lives on hold

More than 110,000 Olympic volunteers had their dream summer all mapped out for 2020. But now, with the Games postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and for many still in doubt, they are left waiting in limbo, lives on hold.

A screen displays an online gathering with volunteers for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan July 2020. Nippon Foundation Volunteer Support Centre. [Reuters]

Hiromi Yamamura and others had hoped to make friends from around the globe in an experience of a lifetime. Instead, the unsung backbone of any Olympics - its corps of volunteers - has had to recalibrate lives, put vacations or returns to home countries on hold and seek out part-time jobs in Japan so they are still free to volunteer.