A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee told Xinhua News Agency on the 26th that the International Olympic Committee is making continuous efforts to successfully hold the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as scheduled. In addition, all remarks are speculation.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 26 (reporter Ji Ye, Wang Meng) according to Dick Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, “if the threat of the new coronavirus epidemic cannot be eliminated after three months, judging that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may be canceled”, a spokesman of the International Olympic Committee told Xinhua News Agency on 26th that the International Olympic Committee is making continuous efforts to successfully hold the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as scheduled, pound’s remarks well explained this point. In addition, all remarks are speculation.
According to US media reports, Canadian IOC member pound said in an interview that if the threat of the new coronavirus epidemic cannot be eliminated after three months, the Tokyo Olympic Games may be forced to cancel, but it cannot be postponed or easily held.
In this regard, the spokesman of the International Olympic Committee said to the Xinhua news agency by email: “The International Olympic Committee is making continuous efforts to successfully hold the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as scheduled, and Dick Pound explained this very well. The International Olympic Committee has just reiterated that the preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games are progressing as planned. In order to hold a safe and reliable Olympic Games, blocking the epidemic is the next important work in Tokyo. BOCOG will continue to cooperate with relevant agencies to closely monitor the incidence of infectious diseases, and will also discuss any necessary countermeasures with relevant agencies.”
“In addition, the International Olympic Committee also keeps in touch with medical experts of the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee. We fully believe that all relevant government departments, especially Japan and China, will take all necessary measures to deal with this situation.”
The spokesman of the International Olympic Committee also said that in addition to the above statement, other remarks about the impact of the epidemic on the preparation of Tokyo Olympic Games were speculation.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9, and the Paralympic Games is scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6.
According to US media reports, in response to Pound’s remarks, Japanese government spokesman and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on the 26th that Pound’s views only represent individuals, not the International Olympic Committee. The Tokyo Olympic Games will be held as scheduled.