Taking heart from the recent resumption of major sports events and progress in novel coronavirus vaccine development, IOC President Thomas Bach said he is optimistic about holding the Tokyo Olympics next year.
"We can see that sport is coming back slowly but surely.... which showed to us and showed to the world that we can organise safe sports events even without a vaccine," Bach, speaking from Lausanne via Livestream, told a meeting of IOC representatives and Japanese officials and organisers.
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus. The pandemic has continued to spread, casting a shadow over the viability of hosting the Games next year, but Bach was optimistic about efforts to fight it.
Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke by telephone on Wednesday (September 23) and agreed to cooperate closely to stage a safe and secure Games for athletes and spectators.