Last month, the IOC executive board approved recommendations in regard to Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, relating to athlete expression at Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
Although it pledged to "increase opportunities for athletes' expression during the Olympic Games" and celebrate "Peace, Respect, Solidarity, Inclusion and Equality" through collective branding, it was deemed "not appropriate" for competitors to "demonstrate or express their views on the field of play".
As such, any actions such as taking a knee at a podium ceremony will be subject to sanctions, although it is unclear at this stage what the punishments might be.
British sprinter Gemili told The Guardian "all hell would break loose" if athletes were banned for protesting.
If he is able to improve upon his fourth-placed finish in the 200m at Rio 2016, the 27-year-old explained he would not be dissuaded from taking a stand and cited double standards over the celebrations of Black Power protests at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico and the IOC's present position.
"For sure I would be happy to take a knee if I was successful at the Olympics and I had that opportunity," he said.
"I would definitely protest. The fact the IOC is telling athletes 'no, you can't do it' is only going to make people more angry. If the opportunity came, I wouldn't shy away from it.
"This is what I don’t understand: the IOC are so quick to use Tommie Smith, the picture of his fist raised, but they are saying 'actually, no one is allowed to do that'. It doesn't make sense.
"I don't think you can ban an athlete for protesting. And if they do, all hell would break loose and it could go south and sour very quickly. They will be very naive to even try to do that.
"The Olympics is not a place to be political, it's a place for sport and to bring the whole world together, but the whole BLM movement is more than political. It's about being a good human, and equal rights for everyone."
The IOC reported 70 per cent of over 3,500 athlete respondents to their survey were against demonstrations on the "field of play" or at official ceremonies, with that figure dropping fractionally to 67 per cent for podium ceremonies.
Nevertheless, Gemili feels the governing body's methodology was flawed when it came to accurately showing the strength of feeling from athletes of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
"I think the IOC knew exactly what it was doing," he added.
COVID-19 forced the 2020 Games to be postponed, with the Olympics now due to held in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8 this year.
But with coronavirus continuing to wreak havoc globally, there are reports claiming Japan has privately concluded the Olympic Games will have to be called off.
The AOC responded to the reports in a statement on Friday, which read: "Both Japanese prime minister Suga and IOC president Bach have this week strongly reaffirmed their commitment to the Tokyo Olympic Games going ahead in July this year.
"The AOC is continuing its planning to ensuring the Australian Olympic Team arrives in Tokyo, competes and returns home safe and COVID-free.
"The AOC, Federal Government, Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council are continuing to progress the candidature for the Olympic Games to be held in Queensland in 2032 – and that process continues."
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach also insisted the Games will take place this year, despite surging COVID-19 cases in Tokyo.
Amid growing doubts, Bach told Kyodo News on Thursday: "We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo.
"This is why there is no plan B and this is why we are fully committed to make these Games safe and successful."
"You may not like it but sacrifices will be needed. This is why I'm saying, safety first, and no taboo in the discussion to ensure safety," added Bach after hinting at the possibility of reduced spectators.
Bach said: First of all, let me be clear that you cannot compare March 2021 with March 2020 because there is such great progress in science, medicine, vaccination and [virus] tests.
"All this was not available in March last year. Nobody knew yet how really to deal with the pandemic, and now we know much more."
The pole vault legend, now 58, is president of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee and considered the best-placed figure to spearhead efforts to help those in need.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is based in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and it is there that plans will be drawn up to support Ukrainian athletes and sport bodies affected directly by the Russian invasion.
IOC president Thomas Bach said in a letter to the Olympic movement that there had been an overwhelming "outpouring of solidarity" from stakeholders towards Ukraine, with efforts already under way to help exiled athletes.
The IOC has created a solidarity fund, and Bach said it was necessary "to increase the assistance already provided, but also ensure that it is coordinated in an effective manner".
This is where Bubka comes in, with Bach "urgently" requesting that the long-time former world record holder and IOC member makes himself available "to coordinate all elements of humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian Olympic community", including the allocation and distribution of funds raised.
Bach added: "To facilitate this task we will begin collecting information on the whereabouts of these members of the Ukrainian Olympic community as well as ongoing initiatives and support."
According to Ukraine's National Olympic Committee, in a statement issued this week, Bubka stayed in Ukraine after the Russian attack began.
He issued a statement on Tuesday that read: "Thank you for all your supportive messages and calls we received from around the world. Ukraine is grateful to the IOC for its full solidarity as well as to its task force for its communications with the NOC of Ukraine for coordination of humanitarian assistance. The war must stop, peace and humanity must win."
It was confirmed in March the Games would be put back to July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC executive board on Thursday approved a financial plan to deal with the crisis months before the Olympics were due to start.
A mammoth sum of up to $650m will be set aside for the IOC to cover the cost of organising the rescheduled Games.
An aid package of up to $150m for the Olympic movement - including international federations, national Olympic committees and IOC-recognised organisations - has also been approved.
The IOC stated it is "undergoing a deep analysis process to evaluate and assess the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on all of its operations".
IOC president Thomas Bach said: "The Olympic movement is facing an unprecedented challenge.
"The IOC has to organise postponed Olympic Games for the first time ever, and has to help its stakeholders come through this global crisis.
"This new situation will need all our solidarity, creativity, determination and flexibility. We shall all need to make sacrifices and compromises. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.
"This situation requires every one of us to do our part, and this applies to all of us, including the IOC. With today's financial plans, we are addressing these needs."
Friday was supposed to be the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics, but the coronavirus pandemic saw the Games postponed until 2021.
Organising chief Yoshiro Mori was asked by national broadcaster NHK if the Olympics would be able to go ahead if things were unchanged.
"If the current situation continues, we couldn't," he said, before adding that he believes such a scenario is hypothetical and the outlook will improve.
"I can't imagine a situation like this will continue for another year."
Mori stated that finding a vaccine is likely to be crucial for the Olympics to take place in 2021.
"Whether the Olympics can be done or not is about whether humanity can beat the coronavirus. Specifically, the first point will be that a vaccine or drug has been developed," Mori added.
International Olympics Committee chief Thomas Bach recently suggested the Olympics may go ahead with reduced spectator numbers.
Mori suggested Bach was referring to a worst-case scenario and, while acknowledging different scenarios may have to be looked at if the pandemic continues as it is now, he is against a behind-closed-doors Olympics.
"We shouldn't make spectators go through hard times. Sporting events are all about the whole country empathising," Mori told Kyodo News.
The Games were pushed back from July to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic following weeks of uncertainty as the IOC considered the best course of action.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise globally despite some of the hardest-hit countries having had some success in reducing the rate of transmission and the number of attributable deaths.
However, Tokyo 2020 president Mori says there is no prospect of the Games being delayed further if staging them in 2021 is unfeasible.
"No. In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped," Mori told Japanese publication Nikkan Sports.
The comments came after Yoshitake Yokokura, the president of the Japan Medical Association (JMA), suggested it would be difficult for the Games to go ahead if a vaccine against COVID-19 has not become widely available.
"Unless an effective vaccine is developed I think it will be difficult to hold the Olympics next year," Yokokura told reporters.
"I'm not saying at this point that they shouldn't be held. The outbreak is not only confined to Japan. It's a worldwide issue."
The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has passed three million, with just over 13,600 of those in Japan.
Almost 212,000 people to test positive for the virus have died.
That is the stark warning from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, who sees no viable option to further delay the Games.
Local organisers have admitted there is no scope to push the Olympics – originally scheduled to begin in July this year – back to 2022.
And Bach acknowledged the fact the Games would either have to be staged next year, or not at all.
"Quite frankly, I have some understanding for this, because you can't forever employ 3,000 or 5,000 people in an Organising Committee," he told the BBC.
"You can't every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations. You can't have the athletes being in uncertainty."
Key stakeholders are having to consider contingency plans for a variety of scenarios should the Tokyo Olympics go ahead, but the IOC is resistant to the idea of them taking place behind closed doors.
"This is not what we want," Bach said. "Because the Olympic spirit is about also uniting the fans and this is what makes the Games so unique that they're in an Olympic Stadium, all the fans from all over the world are together.
"But when it then would come to the decision... I would ask you to give me some more time for consultation with the athletes, with the World Health Organisation, with the Japanese partners."
It was confirmed on Monday the Tokyo Olympics will take place between July 23 and August 8, 2021, with the Games – which were due to start on July 24 of this year – having been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussions are now ongoing to find an alternative gap in the calendar for the Worlds in Oregon, which are scheduled to be held between August 6 and 15, 2021, as it stands.
World Athletics are also liaising with the relevant parties of the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, both of which are slated for 2022.
A World Athletics statement read: "We support the new 2021 dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games announced today by the Japanese organisers and the IOC.
"This gives our athletes the time they need to get back into training and competition.
"Everyone needs to be flexible and compromise and to that end we are now working with the organisers of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon on new dates in 2022 for our World Athletics Championships.
"We are also in discussions with the Commonwealth Games Federation and the European Championships.
"We would like to thank our Oregon 21 Organising Committee, their stakeholders and our partners for their collaboration and willingness to explore all options."
The world of sport has been decimated by the outbreak of COVID-19, which has seen the Olympic Games in Tokyo postponed by a year until 2021.
That had a knock-on effect with the World Athletics Championships, originally scheduled for 2021 in Oregon, pushed back by 12 months, while the 2020 European Championships have been cancelled.
A World Athletics statement said the fund will be used to help athletes who have lost the majority of their income from the suspension of international competition.
Resources from the 2020 and 2021 budgets of the IAF, of which Prince Albert II of Monaco is honorary president, will be allocated to help athletes.
World Athletics president and IAF chair Sebastian Coe will front "an expert multi-regional working group to assess the applications for assistance, which will be submitted through World Athletics' six Area Associations".
Olympic champion and 1500 metres world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj and Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi are among the members of the working group, which will convene in the coming week for talks over how to award and distribute grants to individual athletes and to assess means of raising additional monies for the fund.
"I would especially like to thank Hicham for bringing this idea to us, and Prince Albert for his strong support of this project," Coe said.
"I am in constant contact with athletes around the world and I know that many are experiencing financial hardship as a consequence of the shutdown of most international sports competition in the last two months.
"Our professional athletes rely on prize money as part of their income and we're mindful that our competition season, on both the track and road, is being severely impacted by the pandemic.
"We are hopeful that we will be able to stage at least some competition later this year, but in the meantime we will also endeavour, through this fund and additional monies we intend to seek through the friends of our sport, to help as many athletes as possible."
El Guerrouj added: "The pandemic is causing economic pain to people from all parts of society, including athletes, and this is a time when we must come together as a global community to help each other.
"I am delighted that Seb and World Athletics reacted so positively to my suggestion that we create a fund for athletes, and have made it happen with the support of the International Athletics Foundation.
"The suspension of competition has had a huge impact on many professional athletes because they can't earn prize money so I'm really pleased that we have found a way to assist them."
Prince Albert II said he hopes the initiative can help athletes continue preparations for next year's Games.
"I created more than 35 years ago the International Athletics Foundation with the late Primo Nebiolo to encourage and promote athletics and grant financial assistance to athletics federations and the most deserving athletes," he said.
"Since its inception the Foundation has distributed for these purposes more than $30million. I am delighted that we can put our resources behind this initiative so we can make a difference to the lives of athletes who are suffering financially at this time.
"We hope that this support will help those athletes preparing for international competition, including next year's Olympic Games, to sustain their training, support their families and that this will relieve them of some stress in these uncertain times."
The coronavirus pandemic last month forced the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to postpone the Games until July 23, 2021.
In line with that decision, World Athletics has decided – in consultation with its Athletes' Commission, area presidents and Council – to alter the qualification period, meaning any results between April 6 and November 30 will not count towards Tokyo 2020 entry standards or world rankings.
Although qualification status cannot be achieved or boosted in this time, results shall continue to be recorded for statistical purposes, and athletes who had already met entry standards before April 6 will remain qualified.
Should the global situation improve, qualification will resume on December 1 and run through to new deadlines, which are no later than June 29, 2021.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: "I am grateful for the detailed work and feedback from our Athletes' Commission and Council, who believe suspending Olympic qualification during this period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation, and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions."
The organisation also confirmed as of Tuesday, 50 per cent of their "HQ staff" have been furloughed.
The government of Monaco will contribute 70 per cent of the wages of those staff in question, with World Athletics topping up the rest to ensure employees are paid their salary in full.
Coe added: "This decision, made possible by the Monaco government, means we will focus only on business-critical activities for the short-term, which will help us manage our cashflow effectively and protect jobs in the long-term.
"All World Athletics HQ staff will remain on their full salaries during this period with the organisation topping up the Monaco government's contribution.
"We have taken care to ensure the support and services we provide to our member federations, areas, partners, stakeholders, athletes and the wider athletics community remain in place with a reduced team."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday confirmed the event, which was due to start on July 24, will be put back until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
IOC president Thomas Bach last weekend put a four-week timeframe on making a decision over whether the Games would go ahead as scheduled, despite being under huge pressure to announce a postponement.
World Athletics says it was important athletes know where they stand and will notify them of any changes to the qualifying process as soon as possible.
"World Athletics welcomes the decision of the IOC and the Japanese Government to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to 2021," the global governing body said in a statement.
"It is what athletes want and we believe this decision will give all athletes, technical officials and volunteers some respite and certainty in these unprecedented and uncertain times.
"Athletics will continue to do whatever we can to preserve and create an outdoor season of one-day meetings in 2020, starting and ending later than usual, so athletes, when they are able and it is safe to, will have access to competitions in every region.
"This will help them benchmark their performances and adjust their training accordingly for an Olympic Games in 2021.
"In light of this announcement, we will also expedite our current review of the Olympic qualification system, in cooperation with the IOC, and release any changes to the process as soon as possible so athletes know where they stand.
"World Athletics stands ready to work with the IOC and all sport on an alternative date for the Olympic Games in 2021 and has already been in discussion with the Organising Committee of the World Athletics Championships Oregon 21 regarding the possibility of moving the dates of this highly popular worldwide event.
"They have reassured us that they will work with all of their partners and stakeholders to ensure that Oregon is able to host the World Athletics Championships on alternative dates, including dates in 2022."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched military action into neighbouring Ukraine, prompting grave concerns from leaders and organisations around the world.
While the 2022 Winter Olympics ended at the end of last week, the Paralympic Games is set for next month, meaning the Olympic Truce remains in place.
"The IOC strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government," an IOC statement read on Thursday.
"The respective UN resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 December 2021 by consensus of all 193 UN Member States.
"The Olympic Truce began seven days before the start of the Olympic Games, on 4 February 2022, and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games."
It added: "Today, IOC President Thomas Bach reiterates his call for peace, which he expressed in his speeches at the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games."
Those speeches, the statement said, saw Bach call on political authorities to "give peace a chance" and said Olympic athletes had provided an "example of solidarity and peace".
"Following recent events, the IOC is deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine," the IOC said.
"It has established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible."
The delayed Tokyo 2020 event is due to officially open on July 23 and close on August 8, having been put back by a year because of the COVID-19 health crisis.
However, with the pandemic still causing devastation in countries across the globe, there have been concerns that staging an Olympics in 2021 may be impractical.
British newspaper The Times quoted an unnamed senior Japanese government source as saying: "No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult. Personally, I don't think it's going to happen."
That is a perspective that is hotly disputed, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach telling Kyodo News: "We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo.
"This is why there is no plan B and this is why we are fully committed to make these Games safe and successful."
Japan has strict border controls in place in an attempt to prevent travellers spreading coronavirus and bringing new strands of the virus into the country.
The IOC executive board is due to meet on January 27, when it is set to receive updates from the Tokyo organising committee.
A recent poll of Japanese public, conducted by broadcaster NHK, found there was widespread opposition to the Olympics going ahead this year.
The Times said Tokyo would look to host the 2032 Olympic Games.
Yet Australian John Coates, an IOC vice-president and chair of the Tokyo Coordination Commission, says the plan remains for the Games to be held in its current slot.
"There has been no discussion on cancellation," Mr Coates told The Ticket, an ABC radio show.
"At the end of the day, politicians do have to take into account the feelings of those inside their party and the general public.
"But this is not the message we are getting from Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga or the president of the Tokyo Organising Committee Yoshiro Mori, himself a former Prime Minister."
In Japan, deputy chief cabinet secretary Manabu Sakai told media that the prospect of a Games cancellation was not under consideration.
He said: "There is no such fact. I would like to deny it. The government is working as one to prepare for the success of the event this summer."
IOC president Bach spoke on Tuesday at a press conference after interim recommendations were issued to international federations and organisers of events regarding the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in events while war in Ukraine continues.
The Olympic body urged federations to exclude any athletes or support personnel "who actively support the war", along with anybody "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies", and said teams from either country should not be allowed to compete in international sport for now.
However, in a statement, the IOC said: "Sports organisations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports."
There is a clear possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics next year, although Bach stressed there has been no decision taken on that matter, explaining it has yet to be discussed by the IOC executive board.
Bach said the IOC was going along with a United Nations position, and when asked whether Olympic chiefs were simply waiting for the war to end, and holding fire on direct action until then, he refuted the contention.
"We are not kicking it down the road, and we are not waiting," Bach said. "I guess we all would like the war to end now, and this is what we are calling for, but as you can see for all the reasons we are giving the conditions are not related to the development of the war, they are related to the respect of the Olympic charter and the Olympic values, and there we have to address these questions whether somebody is actively supporting the war in whichever way."
Bach said a decision regarding next year's Olympics would be made "at the appropriate time", without indicating when that might be, saying it was important to monitor the latest recommendations "for as long as possible" before taking "an informed decision".
He said there was no timeline because "nobody knows what's happening tomorrow or in one week or in nine months, so we have just to monitor and then find the appropriate time".
Bach knows there is unease in some quarters about the IOC not taking a firm decision.
When asked about Russia being happy its athletes were being able to compete, and Ukraine being unhappy with the situation, Bach said: "We have been accused by the Russian side of being agents of the United States, and we have been accused by Ukrainian side of being promoters of the war, so we appear to be somewhere in the middle."
Athletes from all over the world are due to head to the Japanese capital for a showpiece that is scheduled to be opened a year later than orignally planned on July 23.
The coronavirus pandemic prevented the Olympics from being staged last year and there have been growing concerns that it will not be possible for the Games to go ahead in 2021.
An unnamed senior Japanese government source told The Times: "No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it's too difficult. Personally, I don't think it's going to happen."
Yet Thomas Bach, the IOC president, this week told Kyodo News there is "no reason whatsoever" to believe the Games will be called off for a second time due to the COVID-19 crisis and said there is "no plan B" for the Games.
The Japanese government also firmly stated on Friday there is no truth in claims that it has concluded the Olympics will have to be cancelled.
A statement from the IOC said: "We refer you to the strong and clear statement that the Japanese Government made today, saying that the report is "categorically untrue".
The statement from the Japanese government said: "Some news reports circulating today are claiming that the Government of Japan has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus. This is categorically untrue.
"At an IOC Executive Board meeting in July last year, it was agreed that the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would be held on July 23 this year, and the programme and venues for the Games were rescheduled accordingly.
"All parties involved are working together to prepare for a successful Games this summer.
"We will be implementing all possible countermeasures against COVID-19 and will continue to work closely with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in our preparations for holding a safe and secure Games this summer."
With Paris 2024 set to kick off a three-olympiad cycle that includes Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032, early interest is starting to be tendered for the next available berth to host.
The IOC previously changed their system for awarding the games after French-led investigations into alleged-vote buying surrounding Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
At the Association of National Olympic Committees meeting in Seoul, International Olympic Committee director general Christophe de Kepper confirmed conversations have been held over expressions of interest.
"We are currently working with 10 interested NOCs and regions across four continents," he told members. "[They] are at very different stages and are developing their ambitions according to their own regional or national timelines"
Nations including Egypt, India, China, Qatar and England have expressed an interest in hosting the event.
After the Olympics were postponed in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, they have been rescheduled for this year, with events due to run in Japan's capital from July 23 to August 8.
However, COVID-19 has continued to surge globally with new variants of the virus forcing multiple countries back into lockdown situations.
The outcome of the debate about whether athletes are given priority access to vaccinations, which have just begun to be rolled out in major nations, could prove decisive.
"I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus," Pound said, per BBC Sport, about whether the Games would go ahead.
The comments from Pound came as Japan declared a one-month state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding regions.
"The situation has become increasingly troubling nationwide and we have a strong sense of crisis," said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who had recently vowed to hold a "safe and secure" Olympics.
Pound, who is the longest-serving member of the committee, added the vaccine debate might be different in each competing nation.
He said to Sky News: "It is a decision for each country to make and there will be people saying they [athletes] are jumping the queue [for a vaccine].
"But I think that is the most realistic way of it going ahead.
"In Canada, where we might have 300 or 400 athletes, to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level – I don't think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that.
"Athletes are important role models, and by taking the vaccine they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration for the wellbeing of others in their communities."
The IOC confirmed last week it intended to uphold sanctions against Russian and Belarusian state and government officials ahead of next year's Olympics in the French capital, but added it would explore opportunities for athletes from both nations to compete under a neutral flag.
Ukraine subsequently threatened to boycott the games, unless the IOC reversed its decision.
Having already confirmed his opposition to the IOC's plans, Zelensky went a step further in his nightly address to the Ukrainian people on Sunday.
"Attempts by the International Olympic Committee to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable," president Zelensky said.
"As if you could shut your eyes to what Russia is doing in Kherson, Kharkiv, Bakhmut and Avdiivka.
"[Russia] cannot use the Olympics or any other sport event as propaganda for its aggression or its state chauvinism."
Zelensky went as far as to compare the IOC's decision to the one made in the 1930s, when Nazi Germany hosted the 1936 Olympics.
"There was a major Olympic mistake. The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths," he said.
Zelensky also confirmed he has discussed the issue with French president Emmanuel Macron.
"With the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 only months away, the athletes, the fans, the entire Olympic community, all of us, are looking forward to a new era of Olympic Games: younger, more inclusive, more urban, more sustainable," Bach said in his New Year's message.
"It is inspiring to see everyone in the Olympic Movement making this new era of Olympic Games a reality. Therefore, we can look forward with great confidence to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as a symbol of global unity and peace," he added.
Earlier this month, the IOC announced its decision to have a limited number of Russian and Belarusian athletes compete in Paris as neutrals under "strict eligibility conditions."
The decision applies to athletes who do not support the war in Ukraine while removing the option of a blanket ban due to the invasion.
"We are longing for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 to unite the entire world in peaceful competition," Bach said.
"People are exhausted and tired of the antagonism, hostility and hatred they encounter in all areas of their lives," he opined.
The former Olympic fencer also pointed out that the Games will be the first with full gender parity.
"Our expectations of these Olympic Games are shared by billions of people. In these difficult times we live in, people all over the world are exhausted and tired of the antagonism, hostility and hatred they face in all areas of their lives," Bach noted.
"Deep in our hearts we all long for something that unites us. Something that unites us despite our differences. Something to give us hope. Something that inspires us to solve problems peacefully. Something that brings out the best in us," he stated.
With approximately six months to go before the showpiece, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Coronavirus a global health emergency. The epicenter of the outbreak is the Chinese City of Wuhan where over 10,000 people have been infected. The virus has also spread to 20 other countries, including Japan, where 17 people have been infected.
The Tokyo Olympic organisers have, however, insisted that having been in contact with the WHO and insisted they were “not considering” canceling the Olympics and Paralympics. The IOC has revealed that various countermeasures were already being examined.
“Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020’s plans to host a safe and secure Games,” the IOC said in a statement.
“Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures.”
The outbreak has already affected other scheduled competitions, including the Olympic qualifying tournament in China. Women’s football has been moved to Australia and basketball to Serbia. The Asian-Oceania boxing qualifiers have been moved to Jordan. The World Indoor Championships, which were to have been held in Nanjing in March, were postponed for a year.
