The President of the IOC "very confident" about the presence of spectators at the Tokyo Olympics

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, said Monday "very confident" about the possibility of having spectators at the Olympic Games Tokyo-2020, scheduled for next summer after being postponed to March in due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After an interview in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Thomas Bach told reporters that he was "very, very confident that we will be able to have spectators in the Olympic stadiums year round. next "

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"Great efforts" to ensure that the greatest number of participants and spectators are vaccinated 

The IOC boss praised the measures to fight the coronavirus being prepared by the local organizing committee and the Japanese government.

"We are putting together a huge toolbox into which we will put all the measures we can imagine," he said.

Next year, "we will be able to take (the) right tools out of this box and use them to ensure a safe environment for all participants in the Games," he added.

Thomas Bach, who is on a two-day visit to Tokyo, also pledged that the IOC "goes to great lengths" to ensure that as many participants and spectators as possible are vaccinated before they arrive at the venue. Japan, if a vaccine is available by next July.

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Japanese skeptics

Thomas Bach is in Tokyo for a visit aimed at boosting the confidence of athletes, Japanese citizens and Olympic sponsors in the actual staging of the Games.

The upsurge in infections in much of the world and the renewal of containment measures have once again raised questions about the possibility of hosting the Games next year if the pandemic is not brought under control.

The Japanese public remains skeptical and more than 60% of domestic sponsors have yet to commit to extending their contracts for another year, local media reported over the weekend.

But Olympic organizers and Japanese officials insisted that a further postponement was not an option and that a cancellation was not on the agenda either.

Yoshihide Suga reiterated Monday that the next Games will serve as "proof that humanity has conquered the virus".