Japan Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto has said the the 2020 Tokyo games could be postponed from the summer until later in the year owing to the coronavirus.
He was speaking to the Japanese Parliament and referenced the contract Tokyo have with the International Olympic Committee which says the games have to be held within the year 2020. He said there’s room for the games to moved towards the end of the year.
BBC Report that Hashimoto said, “We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned”. Furthermore, IOC President Thomas Bach has said the organisation is fully committed to hosting the games.
The IOC Executive board released a statement on Tuesday saying they are fully committed to hosting the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It said, “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) today expressed its full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, taking place from 24 July to 9 August 2020”.
It continued and stated that a task force has been established which involves organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the IOC, the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020. It said,”The IOC EB heard a report on all the measures taken so far to address the coronavirus situation, which was followed by a comprehensive discussion.
“A joint task force had already been created in mid-February, involving the IOC, Tokyo 2020, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organization (WHO). Dick Pound a member of the IOC has said a decision on whether games will go ahead or not will have to be taken in May. However, he did state, the games would only be postponed if there was a threat to health of the athletes and of course spectators.
