The Olympics have never been canceled outside of the world wars and Coates, speaking in a phone interview, was adamant that the Tokyo Games will start on their revised date.

“Tokyo Olympics games will take place with or without COVID pandemic. The Games will start on July 23 next year,” said Coates, who heads IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games.

“The Games were going to be, their theme, the Reconstruction Games after the devastation of the tsunami,” he said, referring to a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011.

“Now very much these will be the Games that conquered COVID, the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In a landmark decision, the 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the global march of the pandemic and they are now set to open on July 23, 2021.

But Japan’s borders are still largely closed to foreign visitors and a vaccine is months or even years away, feeding speculation about whether the Games are feasible at all.

Japanese officials have made clear they would not delay them a second time beyond 2021.

There are signs that public enthusiasm in Japan is waning after a recent poll found just one in four Japanese want them to go ahead next year, with most backing either another postponement or a cancelation.

‘Monumental task’

Coates said the Japanese government “haven’t dropped the baton at all” following the postponement, despite the “monumental task” of putting the event back a year.

“Before COVID, (IOC president) Thomas Bach said this is the best prepared Games we’ve ever seen, the venues were almost all finished, they are now finished, the village is amazing, all the transport arrangements, everything is fine,” he said.

“Now it’s been postponed by one year, that’s presented a monumental task in terms of re-securing all the venues… something like 43 hotels we had to get out of those contracts and re-negotiate for a year later.

“Sponsorships had to be extended a year, broadcast rights.”

With much of that work underway, or accomplished, a task force has been set up to look at the different scenarios in 2021 – from how border controls will affect the movement of athletes, to whether fans can pack venues and how to keep stadiums safe.

The group, comprising Japanese and IOC officials, met for the first time last week.

“Their job now is to look at all the different counter-measures that will be required for the Games to take place,” said Coates, the long-time president of the Australian Olympic Committee.

“Some countries will have it (COVID) under control, some won’t. We’ll have athletes therefore coming from places where it’s under control and some where it is not.

“There’s 206 teams… so there’s a massive task being undertaken on the Japanese side.”

Japan has already ploughed billions of dollars into the Olympics, with the delay only adding to the cost.

Coates said the IOC was doing its part, putting in “something like an extra $800 million to support the international federations, whose income isn’t happening this year, and national Olympic committees.”

The flame will be on show from today until November 1 at the Japanese Olympic Museum, located next to the National Stadium purpose-built for the Games which were due to take place this year but were rescheduled for 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Reuters reported.

The flame was last seen in Fukushima after the torch relay was canceled following its arrival from Greece but before it could start a planned tour of Japan following the decision to postpone the Games in March.

“Next year, this flame will be carried by about 10,000 torchbearers and will light the Olympic cauldron,” Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said.

“We would like to make efforts toward this so that we can ensure a great success of the Games.”

Organizers have not announced details of the torch relay. The original 121-day plan had the torch traveling to all of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

“I suppose athletes aiming to participate in Olympics and Paralympics are training hard every day while having great anxiety (due to coronavirus),” said Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) president Yasuhiro Yamashita who received the flame from Mori.

“I am confident that this flame, which is displayed today, will be moral support for such athletes.”

To limit crowds gathering to view the flame, there will be a reservation system with a designated date and time.