Olympics Games set to be postponed as they set a four-week deadline to work out plans amid coronavirus chaos

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are highly likely to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the International Olympic Committee having given themselves a month to make a decision.

The IOC has given itself a deadline of four weeks to consider a postponement after it held an executive board meeting on Sunday afternoon and ruled out a cancellation. The news comes amid increased criticism of its stance by athletes and national Olympic committees, with Japanese officials and International Olympics chief Thomas Bach having been insistent that their Games will go ahead on July 24, despite the fact that the pandemic is continuing to escalate.

“Finally, we have been asked to make a simulation in case of a postponement,” the source, who is involved in the talks, told Reuters.
“We are making alternative plans – plan B, C, D – looking at different postponement timeframes.”

Another board member of the organising committee also said a decision regarding  postponement should be made swiftly.
“The more they push the decision away… more and more preparations have to be made – this will cause cancellation fees to go through the roof,” the board member said.

The options – which include scaling back the Games or holding them behind closed doors – would be debated by the organising committee at the end of March, the official said.