Tokyo Olympic organisers may not have planned for what to do in the case of a global disease outbreak, the man behind five successful bids has warned.
Terrence Burns, who worked on winning bids for two summer and three winter Olympics, said the bid committees are not typically asked to explain what they would do in case of a pandemic.
It comes after questions were raised over whether the Tokyo Olympics – which cost $12.6billion – will be able to go ahead amid the spread of coronavirus, which the World Health Organisation admits has the potential to become a pandemic.
Fears have been raised that the Tokyo Olympics, which is due to begin in July, will have to be cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak
A brand consultant who worked on five successful Olympic bids has warned that he has never seen a plan put in place for what to do in case of a disease outbreak
While disaster planning is part of the bid process, Mr Burns said, typical scenarios that bid cities are question on include what to do in case of a natural disaster, fire or terror attack.
‘I’ve never seen an Olympic organising committee ask: “Are you prepared for a global pandemic?”,’ he told the New York Times.
Mr Burns, CEO of the TBurns Sports Group, worked as the lead brand and marketing strategist for the Beijing 2008 and Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic bids.
He also worked on the Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics bids, along with two World Cup bids.
Terrence Burns said that while planning for a natural disaster or terror attack is typical, planning for a pandemic is not
Japanese authorities have insisted that there is ‘no thought’ of cancelling the games, but have not yet revealed what they plan to do to ensure they can go ahead.
On Wednesday Toshiro Muto, the chief of the Tokyo organising committee said that the torch relay – which is due to start next month – could be downsized to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
‘Bringing spectators together in large numbers increases the risk of infection. Downsizing is among the approaches we can consider,’ he said.
But he denied there was any thought of cancelling the relay, and said full measures to prevent the spread of infection would be released next week.
‘We’ll consider how it can be implemented to prevent the risk of infection,’ he added.
Multiple sporting fixtures have already been cancelled over coronavirus, including Ireland’s game against Italy in the Six Nations rugby tournament.
The Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, due to take place on April 19, has also been postponed.
Meanwhile talks are underway about the future of a friendly match between the English football team and Italy, due to take place in London at Wembley in March.
Coronavirus has sickened more than 82,000 worldwide and killed almost 3,000, amid warnings that it is approaching pandemic proportions
Ireland’s clash with Italy in the Six Nations rugby tournament has already been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak there, while other sporting fixtures are under review (file)
The 2020 Euros championship, due to be played this summer at stadiums across the continent, is also under review.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he is ‘fully committed’ to holding the Games on time, and Japanese officials have said there is no thought of cancelling them.
But Canadian ex-swimmer Dick Pound, who is now an IOC member, has warned that officials may have no choice if the infection does not clear up in next three months.
On Thursday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered all schools to close for a month, underlining the seriousness of the situation.
More than 200 people in Japan have so far contracted the virus and four people have died.
WHO officials said they are working closely with organisers of the Tokyo Olympic Games this year and did not believe any decision would be taken soon on whether to hold the event starting in July as planned.
Nearly 3,000 people with the virus are now confirmed to have died and more than 80,000 have been infected worldwide.