• Staging Games ‘difficult’ if pandemic not contained
• IOC’s Bach warns proliferation of events may need review

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has given the starkest warning yet that the rearranged Tokyo Olympics next year might have to be cancelled completely, saying it would be difficult to stage them if the coronavirus pandemic is not contained.

Speaking in the Japanese parliament, Abe stressed the importance of developing vaccines and drugs to combat Covid-19 before the Games begin on 23 July next year. “The Olympic Games must be held in a way that shows the world has won its battle against the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “Otherwise, it will be difficult to hold them.

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Related: Tokyo 2020 team forces IOC to delete claim that Abe agreed to bear extra costs