Tokyo 2020 preparing to deliver Games with COVID-19 - CEO Muto

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VIDEO SHOWS: INTERVIEW WITH TOKYO 2020 CEO TOSHIRO MUTO SPEAKING ABOUT POSTPONED OLYMPICS, NEW SPONSORS AND DEALING WITH CORONAVIRUS / FILE FOOTAGE OF SPONSORS AND TOKYO 2020 EVENTS

SHOWS: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - DECEMBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. OLYMPIC RINGS OUTSIDE NATIONAL STADIUM

2. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF NATIONAL STADIUM

3. VARIOUS INTERIORS OF NATIONAL STADIUM

TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - JULY 12, 2020) (AGENCY POOL - ACCESS ALL)

4. VARIOUS OF TOKYO 2020 CEO TOSHIRO MUTO WEARING MASK AT TOKYO 2020 MEETING

TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

5. MUTO SITTING DOWN FOR INTERVIEW

6. TOKYO 2020 MASCOTS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"It is rather difficult for us to expect that the coronavirus pandemic is contained, but if we can deliver the Tokyo Games and Paralympics "with coronavirus", I think the Tokyo Games will become a role model for the next Olympic Games or other various international events."

8. TOKYO 2020 MASCOTS

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"I strongly hope that this will make a mark -- this will become a legacy for the history of mankind."

10. VARIOUS OF CERTIFICATE AWARDING TOKYO THE 2020 GAMES FROM INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ON WALL OF MUTO'S OFFICE

11. MUTO BEING INTERVIEWED

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"(Businesses are in dire circumstances because of coronavirus) but still there are companies who are coming forward to say they want to sponsor the Games, which we appreciate very much. It is a bright piece of news."

TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - FEBRUARY 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

13. VARIOUS OF TOKYO SKYTREE LIT UP IN OLYMPICS COLOURS. TOKYO SKYTREE HAVE COME ONBOARD AS A TOKYO 2020 SPONSOR

TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"I am very thankful of this (new sponsors coming on board) and I am moved"

TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - MARCH 18, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

15. VARIOUS OF SPECIAL OLYMPIC AIRPLANE PROVIDED BY TOKYO 2020 SPONSORS JAPAN AIRLINES AND ALL NIPPON AIRLINES

TOYOTA CITY, JAPAN (FILE - MAY 21, 2018) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

16. VARIOUS OF TOYOTA TAXI WITH TOKYO 2020 LOGOS ON SIDE

TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

17. VARIOUS OF LOGOS OF TOKYO 2020 SPONSOR PANASONIC BOOTH AT EXPO

TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

18. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"We are hoping that we will be able to ask for additional contributions (from existing sponsors) in terms of sponsorship fee because of the postponement of a year. But at the moment, this is something we are requesting from our side, but there is no conclusion now.

TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - JULY 24, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

19. VARIOUS OF TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS MEDALS

TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO 2020 CEO, TOSHIRO MUTO, SAYING:

"By making a nationwide effort to implement all possible, conceivable measures to battle coronavirus, the people of the world will be able to come to Tokyo with a peace of mind. Once we create such an environment, I think people's opinions will change."

21. INTERVIEW ENDING

STORY: Tokyo Olympics organisers are preparing to host the Games next year even if the global coronavirus pandemic hasn't eased substantially, organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto told Reuters on Tuesday (July 21).

The Tokyo Olympics had been scheduled to start on Friday (July 24) but was pushed back to 2021 because of the pandemic.

Since then, organisers have scrambled to rearrange an event that has been almost a decade in the making whilst trying to ensure next year's Olympics are safe for athletes, officials and supporters.

Muto said that although organisers hoped the threat posed by the virus could be reduced, nobody knows what the situation will be when the Games start on July 23, 2021.

Organisers are assuming coronavirus will remain a major problem.

"It is rather difficult for us to expect that the coronavirus pandemic is contained, but if we can deliver the Tokyo Games and Paralympics "with coronavirus", I think the Tokyo Games will become a role model for the next Olympic Games or other various international events," Muto told Reuters adding he hoped Tokyo 2020 could be the benchmark in a post-pandemic world.

The delay to the Games will incur additional costs for organisers. The International Olympic Committee has already estimated that the postponement will cost them $800 million but the Japanese side has been less forthcoming in giving exact figures. Muto said the final figure wouldn't be known until December but hoped that bringing on new sponsors, despite the grim economic forecast, would help bridge the gap.

"It is a bright piece of news," he said.

On Wednesday (July 22), Tokyo 2020 announced that Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world, is joining as a new Games sponsor. Muto said he hoped all of Tokyo 2020's current sponsors would extend their contracts until the start of the Games next year, although this will come at a cost. A poll conducted by Japanese public broadcaster NHK last month found two-thirds of Tokyo 2020's corporate sponsors were undecided on whether to continue their support.

(Production: Jack Tarrant)