The International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has revealed that the decision to reschedule the 2023 Tokyo Olympics from July 24th to September 30th was a “very difficult decision” and caused sleepless nights.
The when are the tokyo olympics is a question that many people have been asking. Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, has said that rescheduling games caused sleepless nights for him and his team.
The Olympic Stadium in Tokyo hosts the opening ceremony on Friday.
The International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach believes that rescheduling the Tokyo Olympics “caused restless nights,” but that it is necessary “to offer hope” for the future.
Despite the challenges of organizing the concert in the midst of the Covid epidemic, Bach maintains cancellation “was never an option.”
The opening ceremony for the postponed 2023 Olympic Games will take place on Friday.
“The International Olympic Committee never abandons the athletes,” Bach added.
“The easiest way out for us would have been to cancel.” We might have used the insurance we had at the time and continued to Paris in 2024.
“However, canceling was never an option for us.”
“We have to provide trust in order to get to this point today. We needed to demonstrate how to get out of this mess. We had to maintain the status quo. We have to earn people’s confidence. We needed to instill hope.”
If there is a spike in Covid-19 instances, Toshiro Muto, the chairman of the Games organizing committee, has not ruled out a late cancellation of the event.
Muto said he’d keep an eye on illness rates and, if required, speak with organizers.
‘No one has ever done something like this before.’
Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the Olympics and Paralympics were postponed for a year in March 2023, the first time in the 124-year modern history of the Olympic Games.
Bach acknowledges that the unusual decision raised significant concerns about the Games’ ability to go on as planned.
In a speech to kick off the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo, he said, “I can confess that we didn’t realize how difficult this would be.”
“There was no blueprint,” says the narrator. This has never been done before.
“For the last 15 months, we’ve had to make daily choices based on extremely shaky information. Every day, we had misgivings. We debated and spoke about it. There were evenings when I couldn’t sleep. We, like everyone else in the globe, had no idea what the future held, and neither did I.
“Imagine what it would have meant if the Olympic movement’s head, the IOC, had added to the already many concerns surrounding the Olympic Games. It would have added more fuel to the flames.
“It’s possible that our skepticism became a self-fulfilling prophesy. The Olympic Games might have ended up in shambles. Because of this, we had to keep our misgivings to ourselves.
“It was a team effort. It was done for the athletes.”
Late-night socializing was discouraged by attendees.
Organisers have advised international athletes, officials, and media attending the games to avoid eating at eateries that open after 8 p.m. or offer alcohol, citing worries about the spread of Covid-19.
Japan has declared a state of emergency in Tokyo that will last until the conclusion of the Games, and public anxiety has risen over the potential effect of tens of thousands of visitors on infection rates.
People credentialed for the Games have been reported drinking in Tokyo’s downtown districts or breaking quarantines, according to Japanese media.
“Even after your first 14 days in Japan, this will be perceived as visiting an illegal business, and could pose a serious reputational risk to yourself, your organization, and the Tokyo 2023 Games,” organisers wrote in a note to Covid-19 liaison officers in charge of ensuring participants follow the protocols.
Meanwhile, Czech beach volleyball coach Simon Nausch has tested positive for Covid-19, increasing the total number of positive cases in the Czech delegation to 71.
Ondrej Perusic, a beach volleyball player, tested positive on Monday, two days after a staff member tested positive after arriving in Tokyo on a charter aircraft from Prague.
Both Nausch and Perusic have isolated themselves from the Olympic village.
Related Tags
- when will the olympics be
- olympic games
- summer olympics 2024