IOC 'fully committed' to staging Tokyo Games in 2021

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) remains "fully committed" to staging the Tokyo Games in 2021 and is considering "multiple scenarios" to ensure the safety of all participants, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.

The Tokyo Olympics were initially scheduled to start on July 24 this year but has been postponed until next summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are working all together with our Japanese partners and friends to celebrate the Games next year from July 23 until August 8,2021," Bach told reporters in a conference call following an IOC executive board meeting on Wednesday.

"First of all, the entire IOC is following the principle we have established before the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games that the first priority is about safety of all participants," Bach said.

"For this reason, we are working now on multiple scenarios of the organization of the Games with regard to the health situation of which we do not know.

"The World Health Organization is playing a very important role. So we continue to be guided by the advice of WHO and based on this advice we are preparing multiple scenarios."

Bach, however, emphasized that the IOC is keen to stage the Olympics with spectators.

"The Olympic Games behind closed doors is clearly something we don't want," he said.

"So we are working for a solution for the Olympic Games which on the one hand is safeguarding the health of all participants, and on the other hand is also reflecting the Olympic spirit."

Dakar 2022 postponed

The IOC executive board on Wednesday also approved the decision to push back the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, until 2026. The proposal will be submitted to the 136th IOC session for ratification on Friday.

Bach said that the postponement of Dakar 2022 will allow the IOC, national Olympic committees and international federations to better plan their activities, and allow Senegal to carry on with preparations for the Youth Olympics.

Bach added that the decision was discussed on Monday in a telephone conversation with Senegal President Macky Sall. The event will be Africa's debut as an Olympic host.

"This amicable agreement illustrates the mutual trust between Senegal and the IOC," Bach said.

"I am sure that, together, we will organize fantastic Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 for Senegal, the entire African continent and all the young athletes of the world."

Bach dismissed a suggestion that a similar postponement for a full four-year Olympic cycle was an option for Tokyo, if the global health crisis persists.

The situations "cannot be compared in any way," the IOC leader said. "We are and we remain fully committed to celebrate Tokyo 2020 next year in July and August."

Addressing other issues, Bach highlighted the financial and organizational strain on governing bodies of Olympic sports and the 206 national and regional Olympic bodies because of the pandemic.

Around $100 million in loans and donations have now been distributed to help sports bodies through a severe cash shortfall this year.

The IOC said it can distribute up to $300 million to help "support the actions of the Olympic Movement".