IOC's John Coates: Tokyo Olympics 'will take place with or without COVID'

Although the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, it'll now go on as planned in 2021 with or without COVID-19. 

Senior IOC official John Coates said the 2021 games will go on as scheduled, seemingly turning a blind eye to the ongoing pandemic. 

"It will take place with or without COVID," Coates said, according to TMZ Sports. 

In July, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said it was possible for the Olympics to be held with limited fans in attendance and that they want to avoid the possibility of having no spectators at all. In order for this to be possible, Muto says they could simplify the opening and closing ceremonies as well as reduce the number of staff and delegations from each country. 

More than 11,000 athletes from around 200 countries were scheduled to take part in the 2020 games. Now many athletes are unsure of their participation in the 2021 games due to the ongoing pandemic or other personal reasons. 

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Olympics were only canceled once because of war, but never postponed.