Tokyo Games may come before summer 2021: Bach

The head of the global Olympic movement said today the rescheduled Tokyo Games faced "thousands" of logistical and financial problems but could go ahead before summer 2021.

Though most people have assumed the Games will be held around roughly the same July-August timetable as they were planned for this year, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said earlier dates in 2021 were possible.

"The agreement is that we want to organise these Games at the latest in the summer 2021," he told a conference call. "This is not restricted just to the summer months. All the options are on the table including the summer 2021." A taskforce, named ' Here We Go', had been created to examine the issue, Bach added, saying the first port of call would be with the 33 international federations, likely starting with a conference call.

"The first step, we have to see with them, to see what the options are. We also have to take into account the sports calendar around the Olympic Games," the German said. "We want, and we will, organise the Games only in a safe environment."

The IOC agreed with Japan on Tuesday to the first postponement in the Olympics' 124-year history due to risks from the coronavirus impact. It was the last major international sporting event of 2020 to be cancelled, with many questioning why a seemingly inevitable decision took so long to make as the coronavirus epidemic raged around the world.

Athletes were sad but largely relieved, given disruption to their training. The decision was a huge blow to Japan, which has invested $12 billion in the run-up, and presents a massive headache to reorganise logistics, funding and sponsorship.

Bach said he could not guarantee all elements of the Games would remain as initially planned. For example, he did not know what would happen with the athletes' village, where apartments were set to be sold after the Games this year.