Second "IOC Project Review" Held Hints at Holding Qualifiers Outside Tokyo

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held the second "IOC Project Review" in Tokyo on November 18 and 19 to confirm preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Representatives from the IOC, including John Coates, Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (Tokyo 2020), and Christophe Dubi, Executive Director of the Olympic Games, visited Japan. Discussions were held on various topics. Inspections were also conducted at the Saitama Super Arena (Saitama City) for basketball and the Musashino Forest Sports Complex (Chofu City, tentative name) for badminton. These venues are being considered as alternatives to new facilities following revisions to the venue plan.

 

On the 19th, after completing the schedule, a "Press Briefing" was held at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Minato Ward. Chairman Coates stated, "I am pleased to see significant progress since the first meeting held in June. I particularly commend the recently announced draft of the Games Vision, 'What TOKYO 2020 Aims For,' which was created with the participation of athletes and the general public, including young people." Organizing Committee Chairman Yoshiro Mori said, "This time, we reported and discussed matters such as the venue plan review, the Games Vision, human resources management, and commercial aspects, and received valuable advice. Based on this advice, we want to proceed with formulating the basic plan for hosting the Games."

 

Regarding the venue plan review, Chairman Coates indicated he sees no conflict with Tokyo's key selling point of a "compact Games." He further suggested the possibility of holding events in other cities, such as Osaka, using basketball qualifying matches as an example. Chairman Mori stated, "We will not change the fundamental principle of compactness, but if there are better facilities for the athletes, we will consider them as venues." He revealed that for soccer, whose qualifiers are already scheduled for Tohoku, they are also considering utilizing the new stadium currently under construction in Suita City, Osaka. This background likely relates to the draft of the "Olympic Agenda 2020" announced by the IOC on the 18th of the same month. The Agenda is the IOC's strategic reform plan for the future of the Olympics, featuring items such as promoting the use of existing facilities, allowing competitions to be held in other cities, and enabling host organizing committees to propose new sports. The draft will be finalized at the IOC Session in early December and applied starting with the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The next project review is scheduled for February next year.