EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
The President and Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave further strong backing on Tuesday to this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
They did not talk of a postponement or move to postpone the Games due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“We are preparing for a successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” IOC head Thomas Bach said at the start of a board meeting to discuss the situation.
The 66-year-old German lawyer and former Olympic fencing champion has a firm grip on IOC decision-making and is known for sticking to his guns in adversity.
Both Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers and the IOC have repeatedly stressed that the July 24 to Aug. 9 Games will go ahead as planned in spite of the outbreak.
They have also pointed out that there is no plan B.
“The IOC Executive Board today (Tuesday) expressed its full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the board later added in a statement.
However, multiple sports events around the world have been cancelled during the epidemic, which has killed more than 3,000 people in China.
It has spread to more than 60 countries, including Japan where infections are near 1,000 and 12 people have died.
And, earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto acknowledged that Tokyo’s contract would allow for a postponement until the end of the year.
In spite of concerns over possible health risks to spectators and participants, the Olympics body is unwilling to publicly discuss any other option, such as cancellation or postponement.
This is because it knows this will throw the Games into confusion.
The IOC board said a joint task force had been created in mid-February.
The task force has the IOC board, the Tokyo Games organisers, the city, the government, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It is to help deal with the coronavirus ahead of the Olympics.
“The IOC EB appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo’s plans to host safe and secure Games,” it added in the statement.
Tokyo has pumped in more than 12 billion dollars to organise the event while billions more were spent on related projects.
Tokyo Games organisers are due to deliver a report via video conference to the executive board on Wednesday when the Games will be discussed, before a news conference by Bach.