Not discussing cancellation or postponement of Tokyo Games, says IOC chief

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach insisted that the nightmare scenario of either cancelling or postponing the Tokyo Olympics was not discussed at a key meeting on Wednesday despite fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

“Neither the word cancellation nor postponement was mentioned today during the Executive Board meeting,” Bach told reporters.

“I will not add fuel to the flames of speculation. Our statement from yesterday is very clear -- we are fully committed to the success of the Tokyo Games.”

The Olympics take place from July 24-August 9.

However, many sporting events around the world have either been cancelled or postponed in the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Around 3,200 people have died and over 90,000 have been infected in more than 60 countries worldwide.

The vast majority of cases are in China, but South Korea, Italy and Iran have emerged as the countries with the most cases outside the epicentre.

The virus, however, has infected at least 230 people across Japan and been linked to five deaths.

Bach said that a working group had been created made up of the IOC, Tokyo 2020 organisers, the city of Tokyo, the Japanese government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We have this joint working group which holds regular meetings. We examine every question which may arise but we do not speculate on possible future developments,” added Bach.

Meanwhile, the president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee rebuffed speculation on Wednesday that the Games might be cancelled due to deepening concern about the coronavirus outbreak, declaring that was not an option.

“I am totally not considering this,” Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a briefing when asked about a possible cancellation. Asked when the organisers could decide on changes to the Olympics, he said: “I’m not God so I don’t know.”

But Mori, who repeated several times that the only plan right now was to hold the Games as scheduled, also emphasised that the organisers were listening to various opinions and would be flexible.

“The situation changes every day. It changes depending on the place. That’s why we need to respond in a flexible manner,” Mori said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has topped 1,000, according to a Reuters calculation, of which 706 are from the Diamond Princess liner. A total of 12 have died, of which six were from the Diamond Princess.

This has fuelled worries the Games could be postponed or even cancelled. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked schools to close this month, companies are encouraging employees to work from home and sporting events are being cancelled or played in empty arenas.

Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto fuelled concerns about a delay, saying on Tuesday that Tokyo’s contract with the IOC “could be interpreted as allowing a postponement” until the end of the year, although she reiterated the government remained committed to the Games starting on July 24.

Mori said Hashimoto had told him that her remarks had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.

Mori spoke after a videolink with the board members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during which he briefed them on measures Tokyo 2020 officials were taking to control the spread of coronavirus during the events in the run up to the Games. The IOC board members are holding a two-day meeting in Lausanne.

Mori said he was “happy” and “encouraged” to hear that IOC President Thomas Bach was confident that the Olympics would begin as scheduled on July 24.

Agencies