Amid cancellation chatter, IOC and Tokyo Olympics organizers ‘focused on hosting’

TOKYO — IOC President Thomas Bach and local organizers are battling reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled.

The Tokyo Games, to be held on the 23rd. The event, which was supposed to open on July 10, was postponed ten months ago when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and now the event is in danger again.

The Times of London reported that the games should be cancelled. He quotes an unidentified senior member of the ruling coalition government.

No one wants to be the first to say it, but the consensus is that it’s too complicated, the source said. Personally, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

In a statement on Friday, the local organizing committee did not directly address the Times story, but said the Olympics were moving forward and had the support of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

All of our implementing partners, including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC and the IPC [International Paralympic Committee], are fully focused on hosting the Games this summer, according to the statement.

We hope that daily life will return to normal as soon as possible and we will continue to work hard to prepare safe games.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement that it had not been informed of any change in the status of the summer event.

Any official communication related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will come from the IOC, the Tokyo Organizing Committee and the Japanese government, the USOPC said. We have received no information that the Games are not going as planned, and we continue to focus on the health and preparation of Team USA’s athletes for this summer’s Games.

The London Times reported that Japan is hoping to host the 2032 Olympics. The IOC has already awarded the 2024 Olympics to Paris and the 2028 version to Los Angeles.

The idea of waiting ten years for Tokyo seems unlikely given the cost of maintaining the facilities, negotiating new leases, etc. The idea of waiting ten years for Tokyo seems unlikely given the cost of maintaining the facilities, negotiating new leases, etc. Tokyo has already spent about $25 billion on the Olympics, most of it funded by the government.

Several reports of cancellations came to light this month as the Japanese government declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and other prefectures to combat the growing number of cases of COVID-19.

For now, there is no reason to believe that the Tokyo Olympics will not be held on the 23rd. July will open at the Olympic Stadium, Japanese news agency Kyodo Bach reported on Thursday. He also stated that there is no plan B.

The longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee, Richard Pound, said earlier this week that the Olympics could be largely fan-made.

The IOC, based in Switzerland, derives 73% of its revenue from the sale of broadcasting rights and its main source of income is stagnating due to the postponement of the Olympics. A widely televised event would have suited the IOC better than a cancellation.

Unlike other sports organizations that offer hundreds of competitions, the IOC only has two major events for sale: the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics.

Bach suggested that the Tokyo Olympics, which will feature 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of coaches, officials, judges, personalities, media and broadcasters, may need radical changes.

About 4,400 athletes will participate in the Paralympic Games, which begin on the 24th. August will be open.

You may not like it, but sacrifices will have to be made, Mr Bach said. That’s why I say: Safety first, and no taboos in the discussion to ensure safety.

Japan has had fewer than 5,000 coronavirus deaths and has managed the virus better than most countries. But in Tokyo, a metropolis of 35 million people, the increase is not limited.

In Japan, public opinion is also against gambling. In several surveys, 80% of respondents said they needed to be postponed or cancelled.

According to Bach, organizers are now in a better position to host the Olympics than they were 10 months ago, when the Games were postponed.

First of all, I want to make it clear that you can’t compare March 2021 to March 2020 because so much progress has been made in science, medicine, vaccines and [virus] testing, Bach told Kyodo. None of this was available last March. No one knew how to really fight a pandemic yet, and now we know much more.

In Japan, the introduction of vaccines has been slow. However, the IOC has stated that its measures to combat the virus will focus on screening, quarantine, social distancing and widespread isolation of athletes.

It encourages athletes to be vaccinated, but does not require them to be vaccinated.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.