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CoronavirusPrincess Anne and Family

Is Princess Anne about to cancel the 2020 Olympic Games?

The Princess Royal and her colleagues in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be monitoring events in Asia carefully over the coming months as they decide whether the 2020 Games should go ahead.

Tokyo will host the Summer Olympic Games in a few months time, however, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus, there is a small possibility that the games may be cancelled.

Dick Pound, who serves as a member of the IOC alongside Princess Anne, says that they will come to a decision whether the games should go ahead at the end of May.

According to Associated Press, Mr Pound said: “A lot of things have to start happening. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels, the media folks will be in there building their studios.”

When asked what would happen if the Coronavirus outbreak is not brought under control by the Summer, Mr Pound said: “You’re probably looking at a cancellation.

“You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, we’ll do it in October.”

The 2020 Olympics are scheduled to be held in Tokyo between July 24 and August 9, with the Paralympic Games beginning on August 25th.

Princess Anne and her colleagues in the IOC will be responsible for deciding whether the games go ahead as planned.

Her Royal Highness has been a member of the IOC since 1988 and President of the British Olympic Association since 1983.

Other royal members of the committee include Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Prince Albert of Monaco.

With a passion for all things equestrian, Princess Anne competed in the 1971 European Eventing Championships winning a gold medal, and then again in 1975 where she won two silver medals. She was voted as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971 for her efforts.

In 1976, she represented the country at the Olympic Games in Montreal riding Her Majesty’s Horse, Goodwill.

For over 30 years, the Princess has been an IOC member and was also on the LOCOG Board. LOCOG was The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The board was the organisation in charge of managing the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Until her daughter, Zara Tindall, competed in the 2012 London Olympics, Anne was the only Royal to have competed in the international games.

Over 2,600 people have been killed by Coronavirus since the outbreak began in China late last year.

The disease has spread all over the world, with people becoming ill in many countries.

The outbreak is not yet a pandemic, however, the Olympic Games is just one major sporting event which may be impacted by the virus.

The Cheltenham Festival and Grand National in the UK may also be under threat.