Olympic organisers acknowledge ‘massive’ cost of rescheduling Tokyo Games for 2021 amid coronavirus pandemic

Event had been due to start on 24 July in the Japanese capital

Rescheduling the Olympic and Paralympic Games to next year will incur costs that will “probably be massive”, according to Tokyo 2020 organisers.

The leading figures on the organising committee, president Yoshiro Mori and chief executive Toshiro Muto, left no doubt that the task of reorganising the biggest sporting event in the world was going to be a challenge on an unprecedented scale.

The Games – which had been due to start on 24 July – have been delayed until 2021 as a result of the accelerating coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the task force that must find new dates for the Games met for the first time.

“We need to secure the facilities,” Muto said. “Not only the venues, but the athletes’ village, training sites and whatnot.

“We need to assess whether they will be available when we need them next year.

“There will be additional costs that come with this – and we expect it will probably be massive.

“We are dealing with the postponement of the Games, which has never happened in history. The task is daunting.”

PA