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A pedestrian walks past an official banner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on January 22, 2021. Photo: VCG
The entire Olympic Movement awaits the opening ceremony on July 23, “International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said in a video message half a year before the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics.
There have long been rumors that the Tokyo Games, already postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, would be canceled. On Friday, The Times of London reported that the Japanese government has privately concluded that the event will have to be canceled and its focus is now on securing the Tokyo Games in 2032.
The next two Olympic Games will be held in Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028).
“Nobody wants to be the first to say it, but the consensus is that it is too difficult,” the Times said, citing an unidentified source within the Japanese government.
Without mentioning the Times report or the pandemic, Bach said in his video message Friday that he was confident the Games would go ahead, which are scheduled for July 23 to August 8.
The IOC director said that he had spoken with the 206 National Olympic Committees around the world and that “they are all fully committed and looking forward to the Games.”
Bach told Japan’s Kyodo News on Thursday that the Games will go ahead and “there is no plan B.” The German also said that the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 would go ahead as planned. China has said it will continue to support Japan in hosting the Olympics and hopes that they will be held as scheduled, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference in July.
The Japanese government also dismissed the report on Friday, claiming “there was no truth” in it.
“At some point, naturally, we will make a decision on whether we really celebrate,” said deputy government spokesman Manabu Sakai. “Until then, the Japanese government will do what it has to do and will progress and prepare for it.”
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga insisted that he was “determined” to hold the Olympics “as proof that humanity will have overcome the virus.”
Tokyo 2020 organizing committee executive director Toshiro Muto said earlier this week that organizers were “unwavering” in their commitment to host the Olympics this year and that the cancellation had not been discussed.
Tokyo and other regions are in a state of emergency amid a new wave of COVID-19 infections, and Japan has closed its borders to non-resident foreigners.
On Thursday, Tokyo reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the ninth consecutive day. Japan has reported 357,174 cases and 4,980 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins universality statistics.
Meanwhile, recent polls have shown that around 80 percent of the Japanese do not want the Games to be held this year, fearing that an influx of athletes and fans will spread the virus.
To secure the venue for the Olympics, the IOC is working with the World Health Organization to vaccinate all Olympians, Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday. Rapid follow-up COVID-19 vaccines for athletes where national vaccination programs have not started is the plan’s top priority, according to the report.
