IOC chief says Tokyo Olympics must be simplified to go ahead safely in 2021

The Tokyo Olympics must be simplified in order to go ahead safely, according to International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates.

Tokyo 2020 was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 outbreak but doubts still persist about whether it can still go ahead despite the year delay.

Coates, who heads up the IOC’s coordination commission for those Games, warned changes needed to be made in order for them to take place.

“We must reduce the cost impact of postponement as well as simplify the Games to ensure they can be organised efficiently, safely and sustainably, in this new context,” he wrote in Australia’s Daily Telegraph

“With one year to go, there is no clear picture of what shape the simplified Games will take. The situation with Covid-19, both domestically and internationally, is constantly changing.

“The IOC and our Japanese partners…are doing everything in their power to ensure that not only will the Games go ahead next year but the athletes remain first and foremost in all our planning.

“Yes, we want the athletes of the world to have their Olympic moment. Critically, they must experience that moment in an environment where their health and safety…is assured.”