The city of Sapporo, which is aiming to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) said, "The first priority is to dispel distrust," following a series of corruption and bid-rigging incidents over the Tokyo Games. As a result, he announced that he would temporarily suspend the momentum building activities related to the bid and proceed with the review of the tournament management system.
Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto and JOC Executive Director Keiko Momii held a press conference on the 2030 Winter Games bid in Tokyo on the 20th.
Among them, Sapporo Mayor Akimoto said that there were a series of corruption and bid-rigging incidents over the Tokyo Games last summer, and that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) would postpone the decision to host the 2030 Games until next fall. In response to the announcement, he indicated that he would review the current bid activities being promoted by Sapporo City, saying, ``The first priority is to dispel distrust, rather than rushing forward regardless of how it is.''
Specifically, in addition to temporarily suspending momentum building activities for the bid of the Games, Sapporo City will take into account the guidelines for organizational governance related to the operation of large-scale tournaments by project teams set up by the JOC and the Japan Sports Agency. We are planning to review the tournament management system.
On top of that, Mayor Akimoto says that he will consider conducting a survey on the intention of holding the tournament not only for citizens and residents of Hokkaido, but also nationwide.
Mayor Akimoto only said, "We will respect the will of the people."
According to the JOC, the dialogue with the IOC side toward the bid will continue.