US President Donald Trump's suggestion to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year because of the spreading coronavirus was immediately shot down by Japan's Olympic minister.
Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medalist, told a news conference this morning the International Olympic Committee and the organising committee are not considering cancellation or a postponement — absolutely not at all.
Seiko Hashimoto, the minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, said a postponement was not being considered at all.
The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organisers have stayed on message since the viral outbreak in China three months ago spread across Asia and then the globe.
The games will open as scheduled on July 24.
Television broadcasters and sponsors have billions invested in the Olympics, and the crowded international sports calendar has little space for pushing the games back a year.
Holding the Olympics without fans has been floated, as has simply canceling the Olympics, which has only happened during wartime.
A cancellation or postponement will ripple in thousands of directions, hitting sponsor, television, 11,000 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes, staff, airlines, hotels, and $1 billion lost in ticket sales.
It also hurts 80,000 unpaid volunteers who will miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
[Source:TVNZ]
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