The Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled, rather than rearranged for a second time, if the coronavirus crisis prevents is being held next year.
On March 30, the 2021 Games was pushed back 12 months, running from July 23 to August 8, after countries went into lockdown and decimated the sporting calendar.
However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned the Olympics will not take place in 2021 unless the virus is contained.
International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach says the Tokyo Games would have to be scrapped if the event cannot be held next year due to the COVID-19 crisis.
"Quite frankly, I have some understanding for this, because you can't forever employ 3,000 or 5,000 people in an Organising Committee," International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach told the BBC.
"You can't every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations. You can't have the athletes being in uncertainty."
Bach said the IOC was committed to holding the Games next year though it had to be prepared for various scenarios including quarantining athletes.
"What could this mean for the life in an Olympic Village?" he said.
"All these different scenarios are under consideration and this is why I'm saying it's a mammoth task, because there are so many different options that it's not easy to address them (now).
"When we have a clear view on how the world will look on July 23, 2021, then (we will) take the appropriate decisions."
Additional reporting by Reuters.
