The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is considering July of next year for the start of competition, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The committee recently compiled a plan targeting a July start for the Games, which have been postponed for about a year, several sources close to the Tokyo Games said Saturday.
The committee plans to submit the proposal to the International Olympic Committee after consulting with the government and the Tokyo metropolitan government, the sources said.
A number of opening ceremonies at Olympics have been held on Fridays. Taking that into consideration, it is more likely that the 2021 opening ceremony is held on July 23, about the same as the initially planned July 24 date.
As the spread of infections of the new coronavirus shows no sign of subsiding, the committee is hoping to stretch preparations out as long as possible. In addition, since the envisaged schedule for next summer is almost identical to the original plan, keeping the existing blueprint in place with a slight adjustment is a huge advantage.
About 80,000 volunteers will be needed for the Games, and it would be easier to have them in place if the event is during the summer-vacation period.
Olympic qualifiers for a number of sports have been either postponed or canceled because of the global pandemic of COVID-19. The proposal for the July 2021 opening was made in consideration of sports bodies under the international federations that have been unable to qualify athletes to compete at the Tokyo Games.
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