Tokyo Olympics May Be 'Scrapped' Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The delayed Tokyo Olympics could end up “scrapped” if they aren’t held in 2021, Games chief Yoshiro Mori says. 

Olympics To Be Canceled? 

The Tokyo Olympics were rescheduled to run from July 23 to August 8 next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and many teams’ refusal to participate should they be held this year. However, the Olympics could end up being “scrapped” should it come to a second delay to 2022. 

“In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped,” Games chief Yoshiro Mori said when asked if the event could be postponed to 2022. 

Health experts have expressed concern over whether or not the Olympics are safe to be held next year if a vaccine or effective drugs to treat COVID-19 are not discovered. Despite the concerns, Tokyo’s 2020 president is confident that the games will be played, saying they would be much more “valuable than any Olympics in the past if we could go ahead with it after winning this battle.” 

When asked about the potential problems of holding the Olympics in 2021, if a vaccine or drug hasn’t been found until then, the president of Japan’s medical association, Yoshitake Yokokura, said that it would be difficult to do so. 

Experts believe that a vaccine will likely come out by mid-2021, although some skeptics say that there is no guarantee that one could be even successfully developed. 

Mori also added that the Olympics and Paralympics (rescheduled to run from August 24 to September 5, 2021) could share opening and closing ceremonies to cut some of the costs after the massive losses due to the postponement.