Is technical difficulty going to delay Tokyo Olympics for more years? Organising Committee head responds

Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Organising Committee has been shifted to 2021 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, however, the Games can't be delayed further, chief Yoshiro Mori said.

According to Mori, it won’t be possible to delay the quadrennial event by two years after fears that a 12-month delay won’t be enough to ensure a safe environment. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had announced last month that the Summer Games have been delayed. The Games will now start on July 21, 2021. 

However, Kyodo News Agency quoted Mori as saying that there’s ‘absolutely no’ chance of another delay. “Also thinking about athletes and issues over Games management, it is technically difficult to delay it by two years,” Mori said.

He also said that there should be a review of the Olympic ceremonies (opening and closing). “If the Tokyo Games can be held, it will be proof that we overcame one of the largest disasters that humankind has faced. We have been tasked with something very challenging,” Mori said.

According to a Japanese virus expert Kentaro Iwata, he said that for holding the games, which will see athletes from across the globe and fans thronging to Japan, will need the virus to be contained everywhere.  “To be honest with you, I don’t think the Olympics is likely to be held next year,” Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University, had said.

Meanwhile, a member of the organising committee has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.

“The organizing committee has identified those who have had close contact with the patient and entered them in home isolation from today, while the floor where the individual worked will be closed off and disinfected,” the committee said in a statement.