IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH VISITS DISCOVERY'S CUBE IN TOKYO

Speaking on the Cube:

"It’s another innovation, I had the experience of the Cube in PyeongChang, this was already quite something but this is a new innovation and having operations over three floors is great to see, congratulations."

On the biggest challenges ahead of the Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020:

"Organising the Games in a safe environment. Gaining the confidence of everybody that we could organise these Games in a safe way and this was a headache in every way. The pandemic developed very differently in all the 205 National Olympic Committees so you could not only concentrate on what was going on in Japan but you also had to look at 205 special National Olympic Committees so you could see if it was possible for them to send athletes. What did it mean for those athletes? Could they train, could they prepare? It was a major challenge for them to participate in the qualification events with all the travel restrictions. It was to say, very diplomatically, a very interesting 15 months."

Preparing for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022:

"We have to address the pandemic again. The pandemic will not be over by then in the entire world, so we have to be realistic and we have to find the right measures there against the pandemic. This starts already with the testing events for the international athletes and I hope you will be one of them, so that our Chinese partners and the organising committee can welcome you in October for the international test events on the bobsleigh track. The same is also true for the other winter sport athletes, who then hopefully from autumn on can come to Beijing and to Zhangjiakou, testing the tracks, testing the slopes, and then get ready under safe conditions in February next year."

Looking ahead to the Olympic Summer Games Paris 2024:

"Paris 2024 will be the first Olympic Games after our reforms at the IOC so it will be our most inclusive Olympic Games ever. You will see the whole country participating and not just watching. Starting with 2,000 communities in France, they’re preparing a programme for the Games to get the population active and you’ll see mass events in the lead up to the Games. 

"The Games will also be more urban. you will see the Games moving to the centre of Paris. To have the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde in the centre of the Games, or the Eiffel Tower. Then it will be the most sustainable Games ever. We've set the goal for the IOC to make the Games climate positive, not just carbon neutral but climate positive. We have motivated the Olympic ambition with the organising committee in Paris and they are striving for climate positive Games already for 2024 in what would be a huge achievement. For the athletes it will be a wonderful achievement. They also have a good surprise for the opening ceremony for inclusivity and for athletes’ experiences to really come to fruition, get ready."