Tokyo Olympic President Yoshiro Mori Says Olympics Won’t Be Delayed, Contradicts Comments By Board Member

The President of the Tokyo Olympic organization committee Yoshiro Mori confirmed Wednesday that the Olympic games will not be postponed, contradicting comments from another board member that called for a 1-2 year delay amid the vast spread of the Coronavirus.

Mori reportedly received an apology from Haruyuki Takahashi, the board member that first disputed the Olympic start date in a report by the Wall Street Journal. Mori hastily called a press conference Wednesday at committee headquarters to reiterate the committee’s stance on hosting the Olympics as planned starting July 24. “There is no plan now to change our plans,” Mori said as he spoke Japanese. “I have spoken to Mr. Takahashi and he has apologized. He certainly said an outlandish thing.”

Mori continued, “Our basic stance is to proceed with our preparation and to hold a safe Olympics.” He reitarated that Takahashi’s recommendation was his own opinion and not representative of the committee’s judgment.

The Coronvirus can be most contagious in large crowds and the International Olympic Committee has the right to force cancellation without breaking contract terms with Tokyo, according to ESPN. Their biggest hindrance in rescheduling the games are the events slated for 2022, including the Beijing Winter Olympics and the World Cup in Qatar, which creates a crammed sports schedule.

Aside from that issue, the committee has built over 3,000 apartments to house a combined 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes throughout the event. NBC’s coverage of the games is also at stake after the network bid $1 billion for broadcasting rights. Combing that with sponsorship deals, the money generated for the IOC equals 91% their income/

Senior IOC member Dick Pound told the Associated Press last month that the Olympic committee had until the end of May to initiate a cancelation. He later added that postponement was a possibility. The IOC’s full statement regarding their position on March 3 is below: