FOCUS: Tokyo Olympics at risk as Coronavirus rages on

February 29, 2020

Tokyo--The fate of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, slated for this summer, appears in limbo, with the global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus threatening the quadrennial sporting event.

Fears over whether the Tokyo Games will be canceled come after International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said in a media interview that such a decision will be made by late May. He also suggested that the 2020 Games might be postponed by a year.

John Coates, chairman of the IOC's Coordination Commission, followed suit, suggesting that a decision on holding or calling off the event must be made in three months.

Despite attempts by IOC President Thomas Bach to allay concerns by ensuring that preparations continue as planned, the comments by Pound and Coates set off a wave of confusion over the fate of the Tokyo Games.

The comments carried great weight as they came from Pound, a veteran member of the IOC with over 40 years of service, and Coates, the head of the IOC commission overseeing preparations for the Tokyo Games.

The statements led one senior Tokyo Games organizing committee member to suggest that a decision must be made by Japan's Golden Week holiday period from late April to early May, considering the time that would be needed to restart preparations once the coronavirus outbreak dies down.

Domestic and international sporting competitions have taken measures such as canceling or postponing events, as well as holding events with no spectators.

The risk of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is significantly higher than that for other sporting events, however, due to their massive scale. Some 18,000 athletes and related personnel from over 200 countries and regions come together for the games.

The coronavirus outbreak has already started to affect preparations for the Olympics. The national Olympic committees of several countries and regions have called off inspections of sporting venues and Olympic village facilities slated for March, according to sources.

With no predictions of when the outbreak will die down, participating countries and regions are unable to plan training camps in Japan in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games. Many NOCs worry over sending their athletes into areas with the potential threat of coronavirus infections.

Some sources say the comments made by Pound and Coates some five months before the Olympic Games opening ceremony may be an attempt by the IOC to gauge the reactions of the organizing committee, NOCs and other sporting bodies to a potential cancellation.

The authority to cancel the Olympic and Paralympic Games lies with the IOC, in line with the Host City Contract signed between the organization and the Tokyo metropolitan government. According to the contract, the IOC is entitled to withdraw the games from Tokyo if it "has reasonable grounds to believe, in its sole discretion, that the safety of participants in the games would be seriously threatened or jeopardized for any reason whatsoever."

It is believed that the ongoing coronavirus outbreak may be classified as a threat to the safety of participants.

Staging the Olympics and Paralympics as planned is the preferred outcome for the IOC, which gets huge revenues from broadcasting rights fees. At the same time, however, it is also interested in protecting the reputation of the committee and the Olympic brand.

This motive was evident in the IOC's unilateral decision last autumn to move the marathon and race walk competitions to Sapporo in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, due to concern about the Tokyo summer heat.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo organizing committee has once again revealed its lack of risk management capability. It has yet to run simulations for potential emergencies related to the coronavirus, although it has been grilled on similar issues in the past, including challenges related to the dangers of summer heat for athletes. Jiji Press