IOC says it is fully committed to holding the Tokyo Games
IOC president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday the International Olympic Committee was fully committed to the successful organization of the Tokyo Summer Olympics this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency because of a third wave of infections, Bach said all stakeholders were committed to pressing ahead as planned with the rescheduled Games, which are due to open on July 23 after being postponed for a year because of the coronavirus.
Bach said any speculation about the Tokyo Olympics, including talk of postponement or cancellation, was not helpful.
“We are losing our time and energy on speculation,” he said after the IOC’s first executive board of the year.
Asked at what stage the IOC would consider canceling the Olympics, Bach said he would not “fuel speculation.”
“Our task is to organize Olympic Games and not to cancel Olympic Games. This is why we are working day and night to organize safe Olympic Games,” he said.
“We are not speculating whether the Games will take place. We are working on how the Games will take place,” he said, adding the IOC will issue guidelines for athletes and teams next month.
Major issues still remain unclear, including whether fans will attend or whether international visitors can travel to the country.
The IOC has already slashed the duration of athletes’ stay in Japan. They will now arrive shortly before their competitions and leave straight after in order to reduce the risk of infection.
“Our priority is to ensure safe Olympic Games, and we will do whatever is needed to organize safe Olympic Games,” he said.
“Everybody would love to have full capacity stadiums and roaring crowds but if this is not possible we will respect our principle and this is the safe organization. This is the first priority.”
The IOC has also written to all 206 national Olympic committees to contact their governments on vaccines but Bach said no athlete should be vaccinated before the priority or high risk groups.
“We always made it clear we are not in favor of athletes jumping the queue,” Bach said.
“In the first lines must be the high risk groups, the health care workers and the people who keep our society alive. That is the first priority and this is a principle we have established.”
Bach defended the Olympics, saying a number of international competitions are being held during the pandemic.
ALL 33 SPORTS ‘UNANI
MOUSLY’ WANT TOKYO GAMES >> The IOC is adamant the Tokyo Olympics will be held this year despite the pandemic. So, too, are Japanese organizers.
Now hear it from the man who represents the track and field, swimming and gymnastics federations as well as every other Summer Games sport.
“At the moment, we’re positive that the games will be held,” said Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.
“They will be different games. But we, the federations, are open to accepting these changes,” Ricci Bitti told The Associated Press this week. “They will be spartan games, with all of the usual services reduced.”
The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organizers are set to roll out “playbooks” next week to explain how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and tens of thousands of others will try to safely enter Japan when the Olympics open in just under six months.
The planning is being made public to push back against reports that the Olympics will be canceled with Tokyo and much of Japan still under a state of emergency with COVID-19 cases rising.
So are all 33 sports federations — from archery to wrestling — moving forward with their planning?
“All of them,” Ricci Bitti said, a day after the federations’ latest meeting. “It’s unanimous. They want the games.”