Florida's chief financial officer wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee telling it that his state was ready to host the Olympics, should Tokyo give up hosting them this summer.
Read also: Tokyo stuck in the Olympic quagmire
In his letter to the attention of IOC boss Thomas Bach, which he posted online, Jimmy Patronis
"encourages him to consider transferring the 2021 Olympic Games from Tokyo, Japan, to the United States of America, and more precisely in Florida ”
.
"The media having reported that Japanese leaders had concluded
" in private "
, that due to the pandemic, the 2021 Olympics could not take place
(in Tokyo, note)
, there is still time to deploy a team"
of the IOC in Florida
"to meet local officials on the holding of the Olympics in the Sunshine State,"
he continues.
In its letter, Patronis touts the state's vaccination efforts, its economic reopening, the sporting events it hosted during the pandemic, such as the NBA Basketball Championship, as well as the fact that its theme parks, including Disney World, are open to businesses.
But Florida has suffered greatly from the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 25,000 deaths so far, as the death toll in the United States approaches 420,000.
"Whatever precautions are necessary, a solution must be found and implemented,
" Jimmy Patronis called again.
Read also: The keys to understanding the threat to the Tokyo Olympics
Last Friday, the Japanese Prime Minister swept aside the rumors according to which his government had secretly given up organizing the Olympic Games (23 July-8 August).
"I am determined"
to host a
"safe"
Olympic Games
in Tokyo, as a sign of
"humanity's victory over the new coronavirus,"
he said during a parliamentary session.