Society

IOC: 2020 Games to be canceled if not held in '21

May 22 (NHK) - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has suggested that the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games will have to be cancelled if they cannot be held next summer.

Bach made the remark during an interview with the BBC. The British broadcaster posted excerpts on its website on Wednesday.

The Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and are to take place from July 23 to August 8.

Bach said Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo made it clear to him that as far as Japan is concerned, next summer is "the last option."

Bach said, "Quite frankly, I have some understanding for this, because you cannot forever employ 3,000 or 5,000 people in an organizing committee."

He added, "You cannot every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations. You cannot have the athletes being in uncertainty."

Bach said, "We have to be prepared for different scenarios, and that all these different scenarios are under consideration." He also said, "When we have a clear view on how the world will look like on July 23, 2021, then we will take the appropriate decisions."

Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee Secretary-General Muto Toshiro declined to comment on the remarks, telling reporters online that he has no direct knowledge of what Bach reportedly said.

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