Mayoral candidate wants London to host 2020 Olympics

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for London mayorship, has said that London can host the Olympics in 2020.

If the outbreak of the coronavirus forced the Games to be moved from Tokyo, London will be ready, he wrote on Twitter.

“London can host the #Olympics in 2020. We have the infrastructure and experience. And due to the #coronavirus outbreak, the world might need us to step up,” Shaun Bailey tweeted on February 19.

“As Mayor, I will make sure London is ready to answer the call and host the Olympics again,” he said.

The 2020 Olympics is scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from Friday, July 24, 2020, to Sunday, August 9, 2020.

London hosted the Games eight years ago in 2012. Current prime minister Boris Johnson was the London mayor then.

"Given the ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, I urge the Olympic Committee to seriously consider how London could stand ready to host the Olympics should the need arise," Bailey said in a statement.

The coronavirus or COVID-19 has killed over 2,000 people in China and infected over 80,000 globally.

With the Tokyo Games due to begin on July 24, organisers have set up a task force to coordinate with public health authorities over the epidemic.

The International Olympic Committee has said it had been advised by the World Health Organization that there is no case for contingency plans to cancel or relocate the Games.

Incidentally, in Japan, hundreds have been infected by the virus with two deaths confirmed on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Yokohama port, sparking concerns that the world's top sporting event may not take place, Reuters reported.

The London mayoral election is due to take place on May 7, and Bailey is trailing in opinion polls behind incumbent Sadiq Khan.