ISLAMABAD, July 19 (online Int’l): Beijing is due to host the Winter Olympics just six months after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, which have been put back a year to July-August 2021 because of the coronavirus.
Beijing 2022 organisers were “pressing ahead” with preparations for the Winter Olympics Friday after a senior IOC official warned the coronavirus could force the Games to be postponed. Dick Pound, a former International Olympic Committee vice-president, told that all options would have to be considered if the Beijing Games cannot be held in 2022. Beijing is due to host the Winter Olympics just six months after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, which have been put back a year to July-August 2021 because of the coronavirus.
However, with the pandemic showing no signs of receding, Japanese and IOC officials have both raised fears that the Tokyo Olympics may have to be cancelled altogether.
In a statement , Beijing 2022 said the IOC is ploughing on with both Games as planned, despite the coronavirus still claiming lives in much of the world.
“As far as we know, the position of the IOC is very clear and remains unchanged,” Beijing organisers said.
“They are fully concentrated and committed to the successful delivery” of both the Tokyo and Beijing Games, they added.
China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year before spreading worldwide, has largely brought the contagion under control despite periodic localised new clusters.
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