International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said on Thursday his sole focus is on having a safe Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo, and he cannot yet say whether that means stadiums will be at full capacity. Speaking in an online press conference, Bach was asked whether he is positive the general public will be attending the Games, and that the event will not be restricted to a limited audience consisting of athletes, officials and media. “This I cannot tell you,” Bach said. “We will do whatever is needed to organise a safe Olympic Games. Everybody would love to have full-capacity stadia and roaring crowds. But if that is not possible, we will respect our principles. And this is the safe organisation [of the Games]. This is the first priority.” He hit back at continuing speculation that the Olympics may be cancelled or postponed again, saying such talk is damaging for the thousands of athletes preparing to take part. “All these speculations are hurting the athletes in their preparations,” Bach said. “We want not to destroy any Olympic dream of any athlete.” Bach repeatedly referred to the rapidly organised world handball championships, now taking place in a bubble in Egypt with about 3,000 competitors, and contrasted it to the intensive planning going into the Tokyo Olympics, the availability of vaccines and the constant effort being made to fashion the most appropriate antivirus countermeasures. But on Thursday the first test event of 2021 was postponed because of travel restrictions under Japan’s state of emergency. The artistic swimming event due to be held on March 4-7 in Tokyo will now take place two months later. Organisers said it had been delayed for reasons including “ensuring the fairest possible conditions for athletes to participate” and ongoing entry restrictions in Japan. Bach said he would not add fuel to speculation about cancellations or alternate plans and dismissed notions that Tokyo’s Olympics could be shifted to 2032 or held this summer at an alternate location. “Our task is to organise Olympic Games, not to cancel them,” Bach said. When asked about Japanese public opinion, with polling results suggesting 80 per cent of the Japanese public is not in favour of holding the Olympics this summer , Bach said he understood peoples’ fears, but that facts were on his side. “With regard to opinion polls, there is one coming every day in Japan,” he said. “From a human point of view, I can understand everyone who has concerns about the Olympic Games when he or she is living in a lockdown. I have all understanding. 6 Months To Go! #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #6MonthsToGo pic.twitter.com/TmD4UY4xzh — #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) January 23, 2021 “But the responsibility of the IOC and the government is to look beyond this situation. We have many good reasons to say it’s not about ‘whether’ the Games will take place but about the ‘how’. “If we would think it would be irresponsible and we would think the Games would not be safe, we would not go for it. Principle number one is safe organisation.” The latest poll by public broadcaster NHK showed about 60 per cent of Japanese companies say the Olympics should be held this summer, in contrast to surveys showing strong opposition among the general public. The poll of 100 firms showed that 48 companies say the Games should be held on a reduced scale, while 13 want them to go ahead close to original plans. Companies said holding the Olympics would help the economy recover, and would be good for the athletes’ careers even if there were no in-person spectators, NHK reported. Bach said his body is encouraging all athletes to be vaccinated while stating that vaccines are not a “silver bullet” but one of many tools at the organisers’ disposal. He said it was important, however, that athletes not go to the front of the vaccination queue ahead of essential workers. “We are encouraging everybody to accept vaccination, not only for their own interests but also in solidarity with the Japanese people and in solidarity with their fellow Olympians,” he said. Bach said there is no hard deadline to decide whether fans will or will not be allowed to attend, but the timing of that decision had to be made by the organisers due to logistical constraints. As for qualifying, IOC director of sports Kit McConnell said it had progressed from 57 per cent of Tokyo slots being allotted at the time of the March 2020 postponement to 61 per cent, with another 15 per cent to be based on world rankings. The challenge, he said, is to make sure all international federations are in constant communication amid changing schedules and restrictions to ensure every athlete has a fair chance to make it to Tokyo before the Games officially kick off on July 23. Additional reporting Reuters