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Olympic Games in Tokyo

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Olympic chief Thomas Bach praises Tokyo’s readiness to host Summer Games

"You have managed to make Tokyo the best-ever prepared city for the Olympic Games," he said during a meeting with Seiko Hashimoto, who is the Head of the Tokyo 2020 Local Organizing Committee

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach

© Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP

TOKYO, July 13. /TASS/. The Japanese capital of Tokyo is ‘the best-ever prepared city for the Olympic Games,’ which are scheduled to kick off in less than two weeks, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Tuesday.

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IOC President Bach attended a meeting on Tuesday morning in Tokyo with Seiko Hashimoto, who is Head of the Tokyo 2020 Local Organizing Committee (LOC).

"You are really doing a great job in your preparations," the IOC president stated during the meeting. "You have managed to make Tokyo the best-ever prepared city for the Olympic Games".

"This is even more remarkable under the difficult circumstances we all have to face," Bach continued. "There is still a lot of work to do - the task is only completed once the athletes have left Tokyo. The stage is set, now it is time to deliver your best, which we have all been waiting for, for such a long time".

"Let’s continue to work like and for the athletes of the world to make these Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 a resounding success, for Tokyo, Japan and the worldwide Olympic Movement," Bach continued. "Our common target is safe and secure Games for everybody: for the athletes; for all the delegations; and most importantly for the Japanese people".

The IOC president arrived in Tokyo on July 8 and had to be quarantined for three days in his hotel room in line with local anti-COVID-19 measures. Bach previously received his novel coronavirus jab, but still had to obey the local organization’s restrictions and rules regarding the fight against the coronavirus.

Olympic Games in Tokyo

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan’s capital of Tokyo will be held this year between July 23 and August 8. In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan for one year due to the spread of COVID-19.

On July 8, Kyodo news agency reported that organizers of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo decided against the presence of spectators at the Games in the Japanese capital and three neighboring prefectures because of the recent surge in the number of reported novel coronavirus cases.

The organizers of the Olympics in Tokyo announced in March that all spectators from overseas would be barred from attending competitions in Japan, adding later that up to 10,000 of local fans would be allowed per venue of the Games’ competitions.

As of today, Japan is ranked 34th globally in terms of reported COVID-19 cases, which currently stand at over 822,280. A total of over 14,950 people have died of the novel coronavirus infection there, while more than 788,130 have recovered from the illness.

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