Olympics President: ‘Of Course, We Are Considering Different Scenarios’

You could do the same. You are counting on the world’s best tennis players, and some members of those soccer clubs. The N.B.A. wants to finish its season this summer, and many players that would play basketball in the Olympic tournament would not be available. Why wouldn’t you follow that lead and clear out the schedule?

This is totally different. We do not have Olympic Games now, so we do not need to clear our schedule.

When will it not be too soon to decide, or when, if you don’t decide to postpone, would you risk cancellation?

I will not speculate, but we owe it to all the athletes, and we owe it to all the half of the world that watches the Olympics to say we are not putting the cancellation of the Games on the agenda.

So there will be an Olympics at some point in Japan?

I gave you the answer.

The Olympics are a huge financial enterprise, but at their roots they are a peace movement aimed at bringing people together and attempting to repair the world. Are you concerned that by forcing so many people to continue to plan for this event rather than focusing on other needs, the I.O.C. may be doing harm?

There are three things. We have established this clear principle, that we are acting responsibly. It is first and foremost about protecting the health of everyone involved and to support the containment of the virus. Second, the decision of the I.O.C. will not be determined by any financial interest. Thanks to our risk management policies that have been in place for four years and our insurance, the I.O.C. in any case will be able to continue operations and continue to accomplish our mission.

The 206 national Olympic committees and the international sports federations expressed that the world in this extremely difficult and concerning situation needs a symbol of hope. So for us, while not knowing how long this tunnel will be, we would like the Olympic flame to be a light at the end of the tunnel, and to send the message of peace, what we always do, but in this very difficult circumstances a message of hope and community of humankind.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/sports/olympics/olympics-coronavirus-bach-ioc.html