INSIDER
Fans or no fans? Tokyo Olympic organizers still mum
Read full article: Fans or no fans? Tokyo Olympic organizers still mumTokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee (TOGOC) President Yoshiro Mori, left, and CEO Toshiro Muto speak to the media after their video conference with IOC President Thomas Bach at the TOGOC headquarters in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. The IOC and organizers in Japan repeatedly insisted on Wednesday there is no Plan B for the Tokyo Games, which were already postponed by one year during the coronavirus pandemic. (Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – One of the biggest unanswered questions about the Tokyo Olympics deals with fans. Mori described his call with Bach — accompanied by Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto — as a kind of pep talk. “President Bach gave us his strong stance, and it was a great encouragement to us,” Mori said.
IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemic
Read full article: IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemicThe Olympic rings are seen at the empty Odaiba waterfront in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. The Tokyo Games, postponed in the midst of a pandemic, are scheduled to open on July 23. The rollout at Olympic headquarters in Switzerland is planned for Feb. 4, with Tokyo likely to present on Feb. 5. The World Health Organization said earlier this week that Olympic athletes should not be a priority ahead of health care workers, the elderly and the vulnerable. The president of the Japan Medical Association sounded a warning last week when asked about the Olympics and possible patients from abroad.
Tokyo Olympic Q&A: Officials try to explain how games happen
Read full article: Tokyo Olympic Q&A: Officials try to explain how games happen(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)TOKYO – With calls for a cancellation mounting, pressure is building on Japanese organizers and the IOC to explain exactly how they plan to hold the Tokyo Olympics in the midst of a pandemic. Tokyo and Japan have seen a virus surge in the last few months, and much of the country is under an emergency order. A: They are guidebooks that will be aimed at athletes and others — sponsors, officials, media and broadcasters — to explain about entering Japan for the Olympics. Q: How is the Japanese medical community and scientific community reacting to the prospect of having the Olympics? Lastly, China is to hold the Beijing Winter Olympics just six months after Tokyo ends.
Tokyo Olympics Q&A: 6 months out and murmurs of cancellation
Read full article: Tokyo Olympics Q&A: 6 months out and murmurs of cancellationA man walks by the logo of Tokyo Olympic Games planned to start in the summer of 2021, in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Tokyo organizers have no public program planned to mark the milestone. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)TOKYO – The Tokyo Olympics are to open in six months on July 23 and organizers have no public program planned to mark the milestone. A: A key is the billions already “sunk” into the event, and the income Tokyo will generate for the IOC. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is framing the Olympics as “a proof of human victory against the coronavirus.”Q: Will these Olympics look different?
Tokyo Olympic head shoots down comments about delaying games
Read full article: Tokyo Olympic head shoots down comments about delaying gamesTOKYO – The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Wednesday he has received an apology from an executive board member who said the 2020 Games should be delayed a year to two because of the coronavirus. The Tokyo Olympics are being threatened by the spreading coronavirus. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee have repeatedly said the games will open on July 24 as planned, with the Paralympics opening on Aug. 25. Any delay would also affect broadcasters like U.S. network NBC, which is paying more than $1 billion for the rights to the Tokyo Olympics. Pound, a former IOC vice president and the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said he was speaking for himself.