IOC ‘fully committed’ to staging Olympics in 2021

Representational image | AFP

Yesterday, July 15, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said they remains fully committed to staging the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

Last March, Japan and the IOC agreed to postpone the Tokyo Games until 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic. To reduce costs and ensure athletes’ safety, the organizers are trying to simplify the event. Supposedly, Tokyo Olympics was due to start on July 24.

In fact, Bach said that the IOC’s coordination commission had reported “very good work in progress” and that more details would be given to a full IOC session which will take place by video conference on Friday.

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) addresses a news conference after a meeting of IOC’s executive board, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Switzerland July 15, 2020. IOC/Greg Martin/Handout via REUTERS

“We remain fully committed to celebrating Tokyo 2020 next year in July and August,” Bach told reporters in a conference call.

“The entire IOC is following the principle we established before the postponement (in March) that the first priority is about the safety of all participants.”

“We continue to be guided by the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and based on this advice we are preparing multiple scenarios,” he added. “We don’t know the health situation one year from now.”

Meanwhile, Bach also said that the IOC had agreed with host nation Senegal to postpone the 2022 Youth Olympic Games until 2026.