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Last week, Japan and the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) recommitted to holding the Olympics this year,
denying a British media report that the government had privately
concluded the Games would have to be cancelled.
"Since the beginning of this crisis, the world of sport has been
adapting. Of course, the organisers of the Tokyo Olympics will
only organise the Games if the conditions allow it," Paris Games
chief Tony Estanguet told French daily Le Monde.
"They have worked on different solutions to adapt to this
sanitary context, with or without fans, the setting up of tests
and a bubble system. Everything has been thought out so that
these Games can be held with a very high level of health
security."
As Japan declared a state of emergency following a record number
of COVID-19 cases earlier this month, British four-time Olympic
gold medallist Matthew Pinsent called for the Tokyo Games,
already postponed by a year, to be held in 2024.
Estanguet insisted the Paris Olympics would not be moved.
"If I stick to the discussions with the IOC, I don't have the
impression that there will be another postponement," he
explained.
"The impact for Paris 2024 is nevertheless quite limited, we
have our own calendar. For the past year, we haven't been
impacted by the postponement.
"Our Games will go well in 2024, whatever happens in Tokyo. I
fervently hope, like many, that these Games will take place
because it will create a strong dynamic - particularly with the
handover ceremony - but Paris 2024 is not linked to Tokyo's
destiny."
The IOC is due to hold an executive board meeting in Switzerland
on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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