IOC: Tokyo Olympics are still on

Field Level Media
23 Jan 2021, 01:40 GMT+10

Officials for the Tokyo Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee remain committed to hosting the delayed Summer Games in July contrary to reports cancellation is being discussed.

The Times of London reported Friday that private discussions among key officials for the Games in Japan indicated cancellation had become a possibility. The Games were postponed from summer 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Some news reports circulating today are claiming that the government of Japan has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be canceled because of the coronavirus," the IOC said in a statement. "This is categorically untrue ... All parties involved are working together to prepare for a successful Games this summer."

Tokyo 2020 organizers said that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is holding meetings, but the crux of those gatherings has been safely hosting the international competition as scheduled.

"All our delivery partners including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC and the IPC are fully focused on hosting the Games this summer," the statement said. "We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure Games."

In a speech to parliament Friday morning, Suga said the Games "will be a symbol of humanity overcoming the novel coronavirus, and a chance to showcase Japan's reconstruction from the devastating (2011) earthquake and tsunami to the world."

--Field Level Media

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