Published on 12:00 AM, March 23, 2020

IOC readying plans in case of deferral?

A man wearing a face mask stands in front of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame being displayed outside the Miyako railway station in the Iwate prefecture of Japan yesterday. The flame arrived from Greece to a scaled-down welcoming ceremony as doubts grow over whether the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will go ahead on schedule. PHOTO: AFP
Reuters, Athens

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) faced mounting opposition on Sunday to the current schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Games as athletes, teams and federations called for a delay because of the coronavirus pandemic.

IOC President Thomas Bach, who has insisted the Games will go ahead as planned, said yesterday:  "The Olympic Games cannot be moved like football to next Saturday."

He also ruled out a cancellation but sources told Reuters on Sunday that organisers were drafting alternatives to holding the Olympics this summer.

"We have been asked to make a simulation in case of a postponement," a source close to the organising committee who is involved in drafting the scenarios said. "We are making plans - plan B, C, D - looking at different time-frames," said the official, adding the scenarios included cost estimates for different delays.

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