Florida ready to host Olympics should Tokyo pull out

Jan 27, 2021 06:00 am

Florida's chief financial officer told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday that the state would be happy to host the Olympics Games, amid speculation that current hosts Japan may back out.

Jimmy Patronis sent a letter to Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC, "to encourage you to consider relocating the 2021 Olympics from Tokyo, Japan, to the United States of America, and more specifically to Florida".

"With media reports of leaders in Japan 'privately' concluding that they are too concerned about the pandemic for the 2021 Olympics to take place, there is still time to deploy a site selection team to Florida," he said.

The letter, which was posted online, cited the supposed strength of Florida's vaccination roll-out, its economic reopening and sports events it has hosted during the pandemic, including last year's NBA "bubble".

Last Friday, parties responsible for organising the Tokyo Games - scheduled for last year but delayed for a year due to the pandemic - insisted they would be sticking to the planned dates of July 23- Aug 8. - AFP