At the IOC, as in Japan, the use of the conditional tense is now prohibited when discussing the Tokyo 2020 Games. Only the future tense is allowed. Optimism, and even, let’s say, certainty.
The Tokyo Games will be held next year “with or without” COVID-19, declared Japanese Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto, a former speed skater and track cyclist, known for experiencing the ambiance of the Games in both winter and summer. She did not mince words. She assured that the Tokyo Games would take place next year “at any cost” with even closer coordination of efforts against the coronavirus.
No more beating around the bush. In Tokyo, the message is now resolute: the Games will take place. Toshiro Muto, the director-general of the organizing committee, explained last week that the discovery of a vaccine against COVID-19 was not a prerequisite for organizing the event.
