2021 Games still not guaranteed, warns Olympic chief
'No clear answer' to whether coronavirus will be under control next year, states Organizing Committee boss.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
The Tokyo Olympic Games may have been postponed by 12 months, but there’s still no certainty as to whether they will actually go ahead.
Less than three weeks after the Games were postponed by 12 months to a start date of July 23, 2021, the Chief Executive of the Tokyo Organising Committee has warned there is still no guarantee that next year’s event will go ahead as the coronavirus crisis continues to play out.
“I don’t think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get [the pandemic] under control by next July or not,” Toshiro Muto said. “We’re certainly not in a position to give a clear answer.”
“We have made the decision to postpone the Games by one year. So this means all we can do is work hard to prepare for the Games. We sincerely hope that come next year mankind will manage to overcome the coronavirus crisis.”
While cycling’s top heads are huddling together to re-shape a season in fall this year, the organizers of the Tokyo Games are still mopping up the loose ends from last month’s postponement. Muto has admitted uncertainty over whether the Committee would be able to recover all its initial investment.
“Tokyo 2020 has taken out several insurance policies, but whether the postponement of the Games qualifies as an event that is covered is not clear yet,” Muto told The Guardian, Friday.
Restrictions in Japan have become tighter in the past week, with Tokyo one of many regional governments imposing lockdown measures.