Summer 2021 or Bust for Tokyo

(ATR) There is no backup plan should the coronavirus pandemic force the Tokyo Olympics to be delayed again.

The IOC and Japanese officials last month agreed to move the games back a year, with the Olympics running from July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021. The Paralympics are to follow from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.

"We are working toward the new goal," said Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya, as quoted by the Associated Press in a teleconference call with journalists on Tuesday. "We don’t have a B Plan."

The comments follow those made by Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto on Friday. Muto, in a virtual news conference, said he couldn’t guarantee that the Olympics would happen even with the additional 12-month postponement.

"Rather than think about alternative plans, we should put in all of our effort," he said, as quoted by AP. "Mankind should bring together all of its technology and wisdom to work hard so they can development treatments, medicines and vaccines."

There could be some clarification in the messaging on Thursday, when the IOC is expected to join local organizers in a teleconference with Japanese media.

The tone of the recent remarks could have something to do with the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan that led Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency in parts of the country last week.

The measures were initially limited to Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures including Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka. But Sapporo and the Hokkaido prefecture on Monday announced a joint state of emergency that began on Tuesday and is scheduled to last through May 6. It is the second time emergency measures have been put in place for the northern island since February.

The IOC moved the marathon and race walking events for Tokyo 2020 to Sapporo, host city of the 1972 Winter Games, due to worries that Tokyo’s summer heat was a danger to the safety of the athletes.

Written by Gerard Farek

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