No 'grand splendour': Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief says rearranged Games will be SIMPLIFIED for 2021

The chief executive officer of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizing committee ,Toshiro Muto, has warned fans that next summer's rearranged Olympic Games will go ahead in a "simplified" format.

Speaking in a news conference on Wednesday, Muto said that the rearranged Olympics will "not be done with grand splendour", but will instead be simplified.

The Olympics, which were originally set to take place in July 2020, were postponed until next year following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And now it seems plans for the rearranged Games will involve major changes as the organizers look to streamline the event to reduce costs and ensure it passes off without a hitch next summer.

Muto stated that discussions were ongoing on how that streamlining process will be achieved, but he offered the suggestion that "more than 200 areas" had been identified "where Olympics simplification is possible." 

But he also stated that nothing had been agreed upon with regard to making simplification changes, saying, "We are not at the stage where we have concrete ideas on how to simplify the Games."

The comments were backed up by Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori stated that it was vital that the Games were held in a matter that upheld the traditions and excellence of the event, while also adapting the month-long sporting celebration to ensure it can be held safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"We want the Olympics to be something accepted by the world amid the virus crisis," he stated.

Mori also made clear that the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee were not considering the possibility of canceling the rearranged Games next year.

"We never discussed cancellation," he stated.

"It is not right to discuss based on speculation and hypothetical scenarios. We are not at all considering cancellation."

Those comments contrast from those of the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, who stated that if the Games couldn't be held in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic, they would be canceled outright.

"You can't every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations," hesaid in May.

"You can't have the athletes being in uncertainty."