Paralympics in the Age of Coronavirus

(ATR) International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons believes the one year postponement for Tokyo 2020 gives organizers more time to make the Paralympics even better.

"We believe at the IPC that change starts with sports, so despite all the crises, when the Games finally start in August next year we still want the Tokyo Paralympics to be a catalyst for change in society, starting in Japan and at a global level as well," Parsons said during a videoconference briefing with reporters.

"We must ensure that this focus is not lost."

The issue of enough accessible accommodation for athletes and visitors to the Paralympics was a concern ahead of Tokyo 2020, and Parsons says now is not the time to take a step back in that process.

"Some hotels were already prepared to adjust, to adapt and with this postponement, we believe that they may lose the focus on that and we want to remind them and want to work closely with them so they still keep the focus on accessible accommodation."

Parsons is carrying on IPC business from his home in Brazil, where he has been for the past four weeks. He only leaves his house to go shopping for food.

He says the Covid-19 pandemic has "hugely" affected how the IPC, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, handles its day-to-day operations.

"As an organization, we have all our staff working remotely for four weeks already. It’s been difficult. We have around 140 staff from 70 nations. The majority of them are living away from home and worried about their families and at the same time having to deal with the first-ever postponement of the Paralympic Games."

Parsons says there are no plans as of now to let any employees go despite what he describes as a cash flow problem brought on by the postponement of the Paralympics to 2021.

Discussions are ongoing with the various rightsholders, who understandably want to delay final payments until after the Paralympics take place. That leaves the IPC with a revenue shortage for 2020.

"We have to tighten our belt in terms of finances," Parsons said. "Last week we identified more than one million Euros in savings from the 2020 budget, which is about five percent of our overall budget."

He reiterated that the IPC will not lose any money but rather will have to wait an additional year to receive all of the revenue from Tokyo 2020.

Written by Gerard Farek

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