The Tokyo Olympics is “unlikely” to happen and organizers should be “making plans for a cancellation,” says London 2012 Olympics chief Sir Keith Mills.
“Looking at the pandemic around the world, in South America, in North America, in Africa and across Europe, it looks unlikely,” Mills told BBC Radio 5 on Tuesday.
“If I was sitting in the shoes of the organizing committee in Tokyo, I would be making plans for a cancellation and I’m sure they have plans for a cancellation. I think they will leave it until absolutely the last minute in case the situation improves dramatically, in case the vaccinations roll out faster than we all hope.”
Tokyo and other parts of Japan are under an emergency order because of surging coronavirus cases with about 45,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19. The Tokyo Olympics, originally set for 2020 but postponed due to the novel coronavirus, is set to take place in six months.
World Athletics President Lord Coe is confident the event will go ahead as planned.
“I don’t think it will be canceled,” Coe, 64, told Sky News. “It is going to be a challenge, we know that, it is pretty self-evident and there will be adaptions.
“But of all the countries on the planet that has the fortitude and the resilience to see this through, it is Japan. I wake up as a federation president grateful that Japan is dealing with this and not some other places I could think of.”
Only five Olympics have ever been canceled, all during wartime: the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Summer Olympics, and Winter Games in 1940 and 1944.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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