Thousands of questions, extra costs for postponed Games
The $12bn price tag for the Games will definitely rise, IOC president Thomas Bach warns
Athens — The head of the global Olympic movement said on Wednesday that the rescheduled Tokyo Games faced “thousands” of logistical and financial problems but could go ahead before the northern hemisphere summer in 2021.
Though most people have assumed the Games will be held around roughly the same July-August timetable as they were planned for 2020, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said earlier dates in 2021 were possible.
“The agreement is that we want to organise these Games at the latest in summer 2021,” he told a conference call. “This is not restricted just to the summer months. All the options are on the table including the summer [of] 2021.”
The IOC agreed with Japan on Tuesday to the first postponement in the Olympics’ 124-year history due to risks from the coronavirus. It was the last major international sporting event of 2020 to be cancelled, with many questioning why a seemingly inevitable decision took so long to make as the coronavirus epidemic raged around the world.