2020 Olympics: IOC member gives timeline on coronavirus decision

We’re just a few weeks away from the start of the Olympic torch relay in Greece, which begins with the flame lighting ceremony in Olympia on March 12th – but the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which continues to spread around the world, has left many wondering whether the 2020 Tokyo Games could be at risk of a postponement or cancellation.

The 2020 Olympics are scheduled to open on July 24th, and according to International Olympic Committee senior member Dick Pound, we should know by late May whether the Games will occur this summer. In an interview with the Associated Press, Pound said that the scale of the event makes any kind of postponement impossible, and that if action needs to be taken to protect attendees, the Games will likely be cancelled.

Via the AP:

“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?'”

The Olympics have never been cancelled due to a health concern – though some athletes chose not to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to the Zika virus. The Olympics have been cancelled five times in the past, due to World War I and World War II.

According to Pound, though, the IOC expects the Olympics and the Paralympics to continue as scheduled.

“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo. All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”