2021 Olympic Summer Games Will Be Smaller in Scale, Tokyo Organizers Say
IOC Executive Board to meet Wednesday before full IOC session later in week
Posted On: July 14, 2020 By :The rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021 will be smaller in scale and grandeur compared to previous editions, said the chairman of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
According to Reuters, Japanese Olympic Committee chairman Yasuhiro Yamashita said the goals for next year will be to reduce costs and ensure the safety of athletes. The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board will meet in an online setting on Wednesday before a virtual IOC session later in the week during which the rescheduled event will be at the top of the agenda
The Tokyo Games would have been starting in less than two weeks from now had it not been postponed.
“The Games (used to be) gorgeous and extravagant, which I experienced before…,” Yamashita said at the Japanese Olympic Committee’s headquarters. “But I don’t think the concept of these Games will pursue these things. The first priority is to be safe and secure.”
The government in Japan is reviewing a process that would ease travel restrictions for those athletes and officials coming next year for the Olympics and Paralympics, Japan Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto also said during a press conference. Japan has had strict restrictions in place for incoming visitors to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus since February.
“We would like to think this through carefully by being considerate about the athletes and related parties,” said Hashimoto according to the Kyodo News.
The 2021 Olympics will to be held from July 23 through August 8, 2021 followed by the Paralympics from August 24 through September 5.
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