The new date for the rearranged Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be finalised before the end of this week, according to Yoshiro Mori, head of the Games organising committee.
A revised start date of July 23 next year has been mooted and Mori, the former Japanese Prime Minister, said today: “We need to swiftly decide on the new date.
“I imagine [IOC president Thomas] Bach is going to call me this week on this [the revised date].
“I think the members also have their opinion. We’ve got plenty of time to exchange opinions and, after that, I’d expect everyone to unite and move ahead for the success of the Games in one voice.”
Mori’s comments emerged from a meeting of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee in Japan today as they come to terms with the logistical nightmare and difficulties of a first postponement in the 124-year modern history of the Olympics.
The Games have already cost £10billion and Katsuhiro Miyamoto, emeritus professor of economics at Kansai University who studies the financial impact of the Olympics, said that shifting the event by a year on the calendar could cost organisers as much as a further £5bn.
