Coronavirus: "No plans to cancel the Tokyo Olympics", insist the organizers

They are asked the question a hundred times a day and the answer is always the same: the organizers of the Tokyo Olympic Games insist that they do not envisage a possible cancellation because of the coronavirus epidemic. “We didn't think about it. We haven't heard of it. We asked questions and we were told that such a project does not exist, "said Toshiro Muto, the head of the organizing committee, on Wednesday.

However, Japan is increasingly affected by the epidemic. The government has asked to cancel or reduce the size of large rallies in the coming weeks due to fears of spread. On the archipelago, sports events, such as football matches, opening rituals of the sumo tournament in March, among others, are subject to postponements or cancellations.

Organizers fight to reassure

In this context, the organizers of the games (July 24-August 9) are fighting to reassure: “Our basic principle is to conduct the Olympic and Paralympic Games as planned. This is our premise, ”launched the boss of the Olympic Games. He also said he is considering ways to respond to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's requests to cancel, postpone or reduce the size of the rallies for the next two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. .

First, the torch relay to start on March 26 in Fukushima and cross the country. “We have absolutely no plans to cancel it. But we are going to think about how to organize it so that it does not lead to spreading the virus, by reducing its scale, for example, ”insisted Toshiro Muto. So for the moment, everything is fine.

"You can't say: we will do it in October"

But is the International Olympic Committee on the same wavelength? Dick Pound, dean of the IOC, told the Associated Press agency on Tuesday "that if the virus spreads too far, it should probably be considered for cancellation." You simply cannot postpone an event the size of the Olympics. There are so many components, countries, competitions, you can't say: We will do it in October. If Tokyo this summer is no longer able to host the Games, it will be too late to organize them elsewhere in such a short period of time.

Dick Pound also believes that the body to which he belongs has a window of two or three months to decide the fate of the Olympic Games. “During this period, we will have to ask ourselves: is the situation under control enough? A statement that made the Japanese organizing committee jump.