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Tokyo Olympics: Questions, few answers in face of pandemic

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AP Tokyo
Last Updated : Apr 27 2020 | 12:20 PM IST

The Tokyo Olympics were postponed a month ago. But there are still more questions than answers about the new opening on July 23, 2021, and what form those games will take.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, will the Olympics really start in 15 months? If so, in what form? With fans? Without fans? Can they open without a vaccine?
TV broadcasters and sponsors provide 91% of the income for the International Olympic Committee. How much pressure will they exert on the form these Olympics take?
IOC President Thomas Bach has already said there is "no blueprint" in assembling what he called this "huge jigsaw puzzle."
"I cannot promise ideal solutions," he said. "But I can promise that we'll do everything to have the best possible games for everybody."
Q: Some scientists are skeptical the delayed Tokyo Olympics can open in 15 months. What are the prospects?
Kentaro Iwata, a Japanese professor of infectious disease, said last week: "I am very pessimistic about holding the Olympic Games next summer unless you hold the Olympic Games in a totally different structure such as no audience or a very limited participation."
Q: Postponing the Olympics will be costly. Who will pick up the expenses?
The IOC has already said the delay will cost it "several hundred million dollars."
Q: Where do we stand with venues and the Olympic Village?
Q: What about tickets?
Q: How reliant is the IOC on income from broadcasters and sponsors?
Q: Where is the Olympic flame, which arrived from Greece on March 26?

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First Published: Apr 27 2020 | 12:20 PM IST

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