'Focused on hosting': Tokyo Olympics, IOC refute report of cancellation
Statement says every effort being made 'to prepare for a safe and secure games'
The head of the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled.
Now set to open July 23, the Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and now the event appears threatened again.
The Times of London, citing an unidentified government source, reported that the games will have to be cancelled. It quoted an unidentified senior member of the ruling government coalition.
"No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it's too difficult," the source said. "Personally, I don't think it's going to happen."
However, the IOC on Friday refuted the report.
"Some news reports circulating today are claiming that the Government of Japan has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus. This is categorically untrue," said a statement from the IOC.
"At an IOC Executive Board meeting in July last year, it was agreed that the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would be held on July 23 this year, and the programme and venues for the Games were rescheduled accordingly. All parties involved are working together to prepare for a successful Games this summer.
"We will be implementing all possible countermeasures against COVID-19 and will continue to work closely with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in our preparations for holding a safe and secure Games this summer."
WATCH | Olympic officials deny reports that Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled:
In a statement Friday, the local organizing committee did not address directly the Times story, but said the Olympics were going forward and had the support of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
"All our delivery partners including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and the IPC [International Paralympic Committee] are fully focused on hosting the games this summer," the statement said.
"We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure games."
Following the initial Times report, Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker said the organization was unaware of any decisions made by the Japanese government.
The committee "has confidence that the Games can be staged safely and successfully given what has been learned in sport over the last several months and the emphasis the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee have placed on COVID-19 countermeasures," Shoemaker wrote on Twitter.
WATCH | Toyko Olympics: What we actually know:
In a letter sent to national sports organizations Thursday night and obtained by CBC Sports, the COC reinforced that it believes the Games would not be cancelled at this point.
"We know the IOC was communicating with the Japanese PM as recently as today and no such signals were shared."
The Canadian Paralympic Committee added in a statement it has not received any official word from the IPC about the Tokyo Games.
"At this time, we continue to plan for the Paralympic Games this summer with a focus on the health and safety of the entire Canadian team," it said.
The Times said Japan hoped to land the 2032 Olympics. The IOC has already awarded the 2024 Olympics to Paris and the 2028 version to Los Angeles.
The idea of Tokyo waiting a decade seems unlikely, given the cost of maintaining venues, negotiating new leases, and so forth. Tokyo has already spent about $25 billion US to organize these Olympics, most of which is public money.
We continue in our preparation to participate at Tokyo 2020 with a focus on the health and safety of our athletes, their families, and their communities. (3/3)
—@DShoemaker_COCSeveral reports of a cancellation began to surface this month when the Japanese government put Tokyo and other prefectures under a state of emergency order to counter a surge of rising COVID-19 cases.
"We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo," IOC president Thomas Bach told the Japanese news agency Kyodo on Thursday. He also said there is "no Plan B."
Senior International Olympic Committee member Richard Pound said earlier in the week that the Olympics may be held largely without fans, making it a mostly television event.
The Switzerland-based IOC gets 73 per cent of its income from selling broadcast rights and has seen its main revenue source stalled by the Olympic postponement. A largely TV-only event would suit the IOC better than a cancellation.
'Sacrifices will be needed'
Unlike other sports businesses that offer hundreds of games, the IOC has only two main events to sell — the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Bach hinted that radical changes may be needed to pull off the Tokyo Olympics, which involve 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of coaches, officials, judges, VIPS, media and broadcasters.
About 4,400 athletes will attend the Paralympics, which are set to open Aug. 24.
"You may not like it but sacrifices will be needed, " Bach said. "This is why I'm saying, safety first, and no taboo in the discussion to ensure safety."
WATCH | Olympian DeBues-Stafford talks importance of vaccines:
Japan has reported fewer than 5,000 deaths from the coronavirus and has handled the virus better than most countries. But the surge is not tapering off in Tokyo, a sprawling metropolitan area of 35 million.
Public opinion in Japan has also turned against the games with 80 per cent in several polls saying they should be postponed again or cancelled.
Bach said organizers were in a better position to hold the Olympics now than they were 10 months ago when the games were postponed.
"First of all, let me be clear that you cannot compare March 2021 with March 2020 because there is such great progress in science, medicine, vaccination and [virus] tests," Bach told Kyodo. "All this was not available in March last year. Nobody knew yet how really to deal with the pandemic, and now we know much more."
Japan is experiencing a slow roll out of vaccines. However, the IOC has said its measures against the virus will focus on testing, quarantines, social distancing and keeping athletes largely isolated.
It has encouraged athletes to be vaccinated but will not require it.
With files from CBC Sports and CBC News
