Tokyo 2020: IOC to discuss easing protest ban at Olympics; considers downsizing Games

Amid a global wave of demonstrations against racism, the IOC said on Wednesday it would open talks that could let athletes make stronger protests at the Olympic Games. Only five months ago the Olympic body strengthened its ban on political statements by specifying that gestures such as taking a knee or raising a fist on a medal podium remain prohibited. But the IOC’s public stance eased slightly on Wednesday when its president Thomas Bach said the in-house athlete committee would “explore different ways” opinions could be expressed during the games – while still “respecting the Olympic spirit.” “The Olympic aims are a very powerful global demonstration against racism and for inclusivity,” Bach said at a news conference after an executive board meeting. Still, he sought to separate “support for the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter and potentially divisive demonstrations.” The current rule 50 of the charter tries to uphold political neutrality for the Olympics but allows athletes to express opinions in interviews after their events. Covid-19 concerns make Games uncertain, says governor Yuriko Koike However, gestures made on the field of play or at medal ceremonies were classed in January as “divisive disruption.” According to the current stance, athletes copying the iconic raised fist salutes by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics could still be sent home from the Olympics. They also would face disciplinary action by their national Olympic team, their sport’s governing body, and the IOC. It was unclear if the new talks could lead to those kinds of gestures being tolerated in the future. Bach twice referred to “dignified” gestures, but wouldn’t specify what he wants to see from the upcoming talks. “I will not preempt in any way these consultations,” Bach said. No details or timescale were given for the process, which Bach said would be led by the athletes panel that includes IOC members elected by their peers, and others who are appointed. The panel led by Kirsty Coventry, an Olympic gold medallist swimmer from Zimbabwe, has typically followed the views of the Bach-chaired IOC board of which she is a member. A push by activist athletes worldwide for the IOC to relax an Olympic charter rule limiting their commercial opportunities during the games has broadly been resisted by Coventry’s group. “I really think the athletes’ commission is taking the pulse of the opinions of the athletes and is reflecting very well the opinion of the majority of the athletes,” Bach said. Organisers also revealed they are looking at ways of simplifying the Tokyo Games to meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic that forced their postponement. Bachtold AFP that officials were studying 200 proposals to simplify the Games. “The impact is huge, as you can imagine. It never happened that we had to organise a postponed Olympic Games, so there is no blueprint for this really mammoth task which we have to perform, and this under the very difficult circumstances of this ongoing pandemic,” Bach said. “So we are looking, together with our Japanese partners and friends, on ways how we can simplify the organisation of the Games, how we can reduce the complexity of the Games, how we can save costs for these postponed Games.” The president of the Tokyo organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, said in Japan on Wednesday that the Olympic Games “used to be conducted in a extravagant, grand, splendour. But the point is that in the face of Covid-19, would that kind of Games be accepted?” He added: “The world has changed, socially, economically and medically ... we are going to re-plan and re-position the Games’ organisation.” Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s sports director, said earlier that in order to simplify the Games officials were looking at service levels and the need for goods, operations and venue management. “From previous Games we’ve seen that sometimes we overplan and underconsume,” Dubi told reporters after a meeting of the IOC’s executive board. “We will not let any stone unturned. The result will be positive.” Some officials have expressed concerns that the Olympics cannot take place even in July next year if the virus is still active. What are the chances of the Olympics happening next year? Pretty much zero Bach denied the IOC had set a deadline for a decision on whether the Games could go ahead. “There is no timeline and no deadline for this. If we have learned something during this pandemic and during this crisis, it is that the issues evolve by the day, sometimes by the hour,” Bach said. “Therefore, we cannot set a deadline now to say, ‘The conditions at this point in time have been as such ...’ “We are working on the success of these Olympic Games and we are concentrated on July next year, together with Japan. “We will stick to our principle that these Games will be organised in a safe environment for all the participants.”