IOC VP John Coates said that the decision on which and how many new sports will be added to the slate for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics "will be determined next year, just before the start of the Rio Games," according to Elaine Lies of REUTERS. Program changes approved by the IOC late last year "allow it to bring in more sports and cut some events as it works to keep the Olympics relevant to spectators and sponsors." Coates, in Tokyo for a review of preparations for the 2020 Games, "laid out a timetable that included setting assessment criteria for proposed sports by April this year, and then go to an IOC session for determination just before the start of the Rio Olympics in August 2016." The decision "would take into consideration things such as cost, popularity with youth, how many countries take part in the sport and a balance in gender participation, Coates told a news conference, but declined to say how many sports would be selected." Coates said, "I can't tell you whether one, two, three, four, whatever number of events will be recommended ultimately, because that's going to be largely dependent on the composition of the events" (REUTERS, 2/5).
