Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois praised Tokyo on Friday for its "remarkable" ability to pull off the Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said Paris was ready to take the baton as it prepares to stage the Games in three years' time.
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Thobois told Reuters in an interview that Paris organizers would be as ready as possible to face whatever challenges come their way to deliver a successful games.
"My first reaction (about holding the Games during the pandemic) is that we need to thank our Japanese friends, to be able to pull that off in this particular situation is kind of amazing, it's a remarkable achievement," said Thobois, who was visiting Tokyo for the Paralympics.
Tokyo organizers, who had already postponed the Olympics by a year due to the pandemic, made the unprecedented decision to hold the Games without spectators in venues to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The Tokyo Paralympics are set to close on Sunday which will start the countdown to the next Summer Games, opening in Paris on July 26, 2024.
