The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organising committee has given a clear hint that the postponed Games would be held around July-August in 2021 and not during spring as some had speculated, Japan’s new agency Kyodo reported.
The International Olympic Committee, when announcing the postponement, had said that the Games would have to be held before next summer and could be held even before.
But organising committee president Yoshiro Mori downplayed the chances of the Games being held in spring.
“I want to offer some conclusions by the end of next week after we’ve mulled it over,” Mori said during a program broadcast by Nippon Television.
He indicated that the new dates would be similar to the earlier schedule of Olympics from July 24-August 9 and Paralympics between August 25-September 6.
“The games are meant to be in summer, so we should be thinking of a time between June and September. It’s better for preparation time to be kept as long as possible,” he said.
IOC is currently in consultation with all stakeholders to finalise the schedule of the Olympics in 2021 and is likely to announce the new dates in about three weeks.