The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is set to be postponed by up to two years, as the Japanese government and games organisers respond to worldwide coronavirus lockdowns and mounting pressure to delay the world’s biggest sporting event. 

The IOC has given itself four weeks to agree the extent of a delay meaning a formal announcement may not come until next month, but on Sunday the International Olympic Committee gave its first indication that the postponement was likely. The IOC said that it would need the “full commitment and co-operation” of Japanese authorities, sports bodies, broadcasters and sponsors, and that “cancellation was not on the agenda”.

In recent days, under-fire IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese ministers have been holding crisis talks about how to respond to the global pandemic, even while remaining adamant that the games would take place as planned this summer.