Coronavirus: New Olympics date a priority, say Tokyo 2020 officials
'Tokyo 2020 New Launch Task Force' formed to "put Olympics back together again" after postponement; "Task is daunting," says organising committee chief executive
By Geraint Hughes, Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 02/04/20 11:43am
The message from Tokyo 2020 organisers is that a new date for the start of the Olympic Games must be agreed quickly as a matter of urgency, writes Sky Sports News reporter Geraint Hughes.
The newly formed 'Tokyo 2020 New Launch Task Force' have set themselves the daunting task of "putting the Olympics back together after they have been torn apart" - that was the emotional rallying cry from organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto.
Apart from agreeing a new date for Tokyo 2020, the Task Force talked about a number of other issues that the postponement has thrown up.
Muto talked about a number of issues to be resolved including ticketing, security, venues, merchandise, accommodation, the Athletes Village, transportation and lining up unpaid volunteers.
"We need to secure the facilities. Not only the venues but the athletes' village, training sites and whatnot," Muto said.
"We need to assess whether they will be available when we need them next year. There will be additional costs that come with this - and we expect it will probably be massive.
"We are dealing with the postponement of the Games, which has never happened in history. The task is daunting."
He added he was looking at thousands of contracts and the interests of broadcasters, sponsors, the IOC, world sports federations and national Olympic committees.
On Wednesday, IOC president Thomas Bach said the Games could be rearranged for spring 2021, as opposed to the traditional summer slot.
Hidemasa Nakamura, the Games' delivery officer, was pressed again about dates on Thursday. "That's something we haven't decided on yet," he said.
"We have no idea when we will be able to finalise the dates. We don't have a fixed plan how to proceed from here."
In Japan, the cost of postponement is being discussed widely.
Muto confirmed to Sky Sports News last July that the Games would cost in the region of £12.5bn, but Japan's Nikkei has now estimated that the delay could come with an extra cost of £2.25bn.
