‘You can't forever employ 5,000 people’: IOC head Thomas Bach admits Tokyo Olympics will be CANCELLED if not held in 2021
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has acknowledged that the Tokyo Games would have to be cancelled if Covid-19 remains a threat next year
The high-ranking official admitted that it’s impossible to constantly reschedule all major sports events and keep athletes, sports federations and thousands of employees in a state of uncertainty.
“Quite frankly, I have some understanding for this, because you can't forever employ 3,000 or 5,000 people in an organizing committee,” Bach told the BBC.
“You can't every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations. You can't have the athletes being in uncertainty.”
Exclusive: IOC's Thomas Bach tells me he understands why the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games would have to be scrapped if it cannot take place next summer.https://t.co/svjGIVInKppic.twitter.com/3adWYO1KB4
— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 21, 2020
The 2020 Tokyo Games, which were set to take place this summer, were rescheduled for 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has swept across the world and affected all sports events, which have been either cancelled or postponed.
Bach stressed that the final decision regarding the Tokyo Olympics will only be taken after consultations with all the parties interested in hosting a safe competition.
Also on rt.com No more delays: Postponed Tokyo Olympics to be CANCELLED if coronavirus not under control by 2021, organizing committee head says“But when it then would come to the decision... I would ask you to give me some more time for consultation with the athletes, with the World Health Organization, with the Japanese partners.”
