The task force to oversee the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games held its first meeting on Thursday 26 March.
First and foremost, the task force will aim to decide the new dates in 2021 for the Games as soon as possible. Tokyo 2020 had been set to be held from 24 July to 9 August.
The IOC and organisers have said the Games will open by summer next year.
“We have to decide when the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics will be”, Tokyo 2020 CEO TOSHIRO Muto said. “Without that, there are a lot of things we simply cannot do”.
Equally important, Muto said, will be securing the numerous facilities – and not just the 43 competition venues – that were locked in for the Games.
Then, everything from volunteers to accommodation to security to ticketing will have to be dealt with. There are thousands of existing contracts that simply cannot be torn up.
And Muto conceded the bill will not be cheap.
“We need to secure the facilities. Not only the venues but the athletes’ village, training sites, storages and what not”, he said. “We need to assess whether they will be available when we need them next year”.
“There will be additional costs that come with this – and we expect it will probably be massive.”
Added Muto, “The IOC told us the organisation of Tokyo 2020 is an Olympic record, and we hope to set another record with this new start we have embarked on”.
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