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    CIO: "Games canceled? All false."

    The Japanese government also denies it

  • Olympics, Bach: unforgettable, Tokyo light at the end of the tunnel

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January 28, 2021One of the biggest unanswered questions about the Tokyo Olympics concerns the fans.

Will there also be from abroad?

And will fans be allowed into outdoor stadiums or smaller indoor arenas?

"Of course, we are looking at many different scenarios, even no spectators are one of the options," Organizing Committee Chair Yoshiro Mori said Thursday after a video call with IOC President Thomas Bach.

"We don't want to have the races without spectators, but in terms of simulations we are covering all options," he added.

The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organizers will launch their 'Playbook' next week, a detailed plan on how to hold the Games during a pandemic.

It will set strict rules for the thousands of athletes who arrive in Japan, who will have to be isolated in bubbles and then leave the country as soon as they finish competing.



Japanese newspaper Nikkan Sports, without citing sources, said organizers should announce "soon" that fans from abroad will not be able to follow the Games.

Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said earlier this week that the decision would be announced "by spring".

The 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be kept in a sterile bubble in Tokyo.

But thousands of others won't, including judges, officials, VIPs, sponsors, media and broadcasters.

Fans are the most problematic and risky with the Olympics being primarily a televised event.

Television money is critical to the CIO, which gets 75% of its revenue from the sale of broadcast rights.

The local organizing committee was supposed to receive $ 800 million from ticket sales, the third largest source of income.

Any deficit is likely to be offset by the Japanese government.



Mori described his phone call with Bach - accompanied by Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto - as something of a pep talk.

Both the IOC and Tokyo are trying to move forward, unveiling their plans and trying to brush aside the doubts of a cancellation.

"President Bach has given us his strong position and it has been a great encouragement to us," Mori said.

"And we're grateful. That's what I told him. Basically this was the main topic of today's conversation," he added.

Mori was unable to clearly answer a question from a Japanese reporter who asked what he means when he says Tokyo "will keep Games safe and secure".

Polls in Japan show that the public is opposed to holding the Olympics with around 80% saying they should be postponed or canceled.

"Everyone hopes to be safe," Mori replied.

"Nobody gets on a train hoping to get into an accident," he said.