IOC & Japanese Government Issue Statements On Status Of Summer Games
Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Summer Olympics
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Olympics Editor
The rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated.
Despite a January story in the Times of London which made it all over social social media stating that the Japanese government has canceled them due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics are still on as scheduled for July 23-August 8.
This statement is currently on the Olympic Games website:
“According to the organisers of the event in 2021, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad of the modern era will be ‘the most innovative ever organised, and will rest on three fundamental principles to transform the world: striving for your personal best (achieving your personal best); accepting one another (unity in diversity); and passing on a legacy for the future (connecting to tomorrow)’ ”.
It also has the schedule for the torch relay, stating:
“Starting on 25 March 2021 from the J-Village National Training Centre in Fukushima, the Olympic torch will travel through 859 municipalities, across all 47 prefectures, for 121 days before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the Opening Ceremony on 23 July.”
Here is a statement from Japan’s government:
“Some news reports circulating today are claiming that the Government of Japan has privately concluded that the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will have to be cancelled. This is categorically untrue,” the statement said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), backed that up, stating it is “working together to prepare for the successful Games this summer” and would “implement all possible countermeasures against Covid-19.”
Originally scheduled for 2020 – the Games are still officially called Tokyo 2020 – the event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
So the Games are still on – for now.
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