KINGSTON: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach has said that he is now ‘very, very confident’ about next year’s pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.
Speaking after meeting Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo, Bach praised coronavirus countermeasures being prepared by organisers and government officials.
The Olympic chief pledged that the IOC would undertake great efforts to make sure as many participants and spectators as possible are vaccinated before arriving in Japan if a vaccine is available by next summer. Bach is in Tokyo for a two-day visit seen as intended to bolster confidence among athletes, Japanese citizens and Olympic sponsors about the prospects for the first Games postponed outside of wartime.
Spiralling coronavirus infections across much of the world, and renewed lockdowns, have once again raised questions about whether the Games can really be held next year if the pandemic is not under control.
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Japan’s public remains sceptical, and more than 60 percent of domestic sponsors have yet to commit to extending their contracts for another year, local media reported this weekend.
News last week of positive results in a late-stage vaccine trial were welcomed by Tokyo 2020 officials as a “relief”.
