Organisers of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics says there is no “plan b” if the games are pushed back again because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics Masa Takaya, said they are proceeding under the assumption the Olympics will open on July 23, 2021.

This will be followed by the Paralympics on august 24.

The severity of the pandemic and the death toll has raised questions if it will even be feasible to hold the Olympics in just over 15 months.

IOC president Thomas Bach was asked about the possibility of a postponement and while he did not answer the question directly, he said later that Japanese organisers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated they “could not manage a postponement beyond next summer at the latest.”

The Olympics draw 11,000 athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes and large support staffs from 206 national Olympic committees.