"As IOC President Thomas Bach said a few days ago, neither the IOC nor the Organizing Committee is planning to postpone or cancel the Tokyo 2020 Games! The day after the Wall Street Journal article in which Haruyuki Takahashi - one of the 25 members of the Tokyo 2020 board of directors (who had not met since December, before the coronavirus crisis) - explaining that 'a "postponement of the tests had been discussed", the organizing committee wanted to clarify things. “We read the articles and asked Mr. Takahashi for clarification. He indicated that he had inadvertently given his personal opinion in response to a hypothetical question […]. We are continuing our preparations for the safe opening of the Games on July 24, 2020 as planned. "
Faced with the coronavirus epidemic, the postponement or cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics (July 24 - August 9) is becoming a hot topic. Takahashi's words - "I don't think the Olympics can be canceled, if necessary, we would rather consider a postponement of a year or two" - contradict those of Dick Pound, influential IOC member, who said that 'a postponement of the Olympics was unthinkable and that the solution would be a cancellation.
The Olympic flame route in preparation
Each time, their statements in the media have been denied by the IOC or by the organizing committee who refuse to speculate. “A task force (Editor's note: comprising the IOC, the Organizing Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the city of Tokyo, the Japanese government and the World Health Organization) has been in place since mid-February and according to its We remain very confident in the success of the Games, said Thomas Bach on March 3. I would like to encourage all athletes to continue their preparation, with great confidence. "
Preparations for the Olympic flame route are therefore continuing. It will be lit on March 19 at Olympia, but behind closed doors. Before arriving on March 20, at Terminal 3 of Tokyo Haneda Airport.
