Not long after the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympic Games ended, Baron Pierre de Coubertin consented to an interview with André Lang, a leading French journalist of the time, who recorded their conversation and published the results in France’s Le Journal.  At one point, Lang questioned the decision to award the 1940 Games to Tokyo. Coubertin adamantly defended the decision.  This was part of his response.   

“The Olympic idea must be allowed to spread freely, without fear of the passions or the excesses that produce the excitement and enthusiasm that have to be there. Trying to force athletics to fit into the confines of mandatory moderation is a utopian pursuit ... Only the Olympic spirit matters. All the rest is of trifling importance.”