However, in an interview with The New York Times, Bach said for the first time that the IOC was evaluating various situations of the Tokyo Olympics.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 20 (reporter Ji Ye) — Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said in an interview recently that the International Olympic Committee is evaluating various situations affected by the epidemic in Tokyo Olympic Games, but canceling the Tokyo Olympics is not considered.
With the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic around the world, the outside world is increasingly worried about whether the Tokyo Olympic Games can be opened as scheduled on July 24 this year. Although the global events, including the Olympic qualifier, were completely suspended, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee still repeatedly stressed that preparations would be arranged according to the idea that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be held as scheduled.
However, in an interview with The New York Times, Bach said for the first time that the IOC was evaluating various situations of the Tokyo Olympics. But he also stressed that “canceling the event is not on our agenda, and we are committed to hosting a successful Olympic Games”.
This week, the European Football Championship and the America Cup announced a one-year delay. The International Olympic Committee also issued a communique this week, saying that under the current situation, it is still too early to make a decision on the Tokyo Olympics.
Bach said, “we don’t know how the situation will progress. Of course, we are considering various situations, but compared with other sports organizations or professional alliances, one thing is different, that is, there are still more than four months away from the Olympic Games.”
“The reason why this crisis is so unique and difficult to overcome is precisely because of its uncertainty. No one can predict the progress of tomorrow today, and what will happen after one month, let alone more than four months later.”
The Tokyo Olympic Games was originally expected to welcome hundreds of thousands of global athletes, coaches, officials, media and audiences. The cost of hosting Olympic Games and sponsorship are very high. However, Bach pointed out that the final decision would not be affected by economic interests. Protecting the health of all parties in the Olympic movement and curbing the spread of the virus were the primary goals.
“Thanks to the risk control policy we have implemented for four years and our insurance, the IOC can continue to operate under any circumstances and continue to fulfill our mission.” Bach said.
On the 20th, the Olympic flame ignited in Greece arrived in Japan by special plane. On the 26th, the torch relay in Japan will officially start for 121 days, covering 47 du Dao counties across the country. However, the scale of the torch relay has been greatly reduced.
The International Olympic Committee will fully communicate with the international sports federation, the representatives of athletes and the National (regional) Olympic Committee by telephone this week. Bach said: “The Olympic committees of 206 countries (regions) and the International Federation of individual sports said that in this extremely difficult and worrying situation, the world needs a symbol of hope.”
“So for us, when we don’t know how long this tunnel will go, we hope that the Olympic flame can become a beacon at the end of the tunnel……”
Against the background that global sports events have been canceled or postponed, the IOC has been encouraging Olympic athletes to continue preparing for the war. This also triggered some different views. Some active athletes complained that although they are looking forward to the Olympic Games, they still hope that the Tokyo Olympic Games will have plan B, so that they can adjust the training plan as soon as possible to reduce unnecessary risks.
As the former Olympic fencing champion, Bach is very sympathetic to the current experience of athletes. “For athletes, the worst thing in the preparation process is to face uncertainty, which will distract the training preparation. I will tell 220 athletes by phone on Wednesday that we cannot pretend to have answers to all your questions. We are in the same situation as you and people in other parts of the world. This is a special moment different from the past, so special solutions are needed.”