The International Olympic Committee has put aside $800m (£654m) to help combat any ‘severe’ financial hardships caused by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021.

$650m of the fund will go directly to organisers of this year's postponed games while the remaining $150m is to be split and loaned to national Olympic committees and sports federations who are suffering cash flow issues.

Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, also revealed that there would be cutbacks as a result of the postponement caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “The situation requires compromises, it requires sacrifices by everybody,”

The German continued by assuring all possible measures were being considered to minimise financial drawbacks.

“We are leaving no stone unturned to reduce the costs while maintaining the spirit of the Games and the quality of the sports competition for the athletes in particular,” he added.

He refused to comment on whether the games could be further delayed or cancelled should a vaccine not be found ahead of the event, which is now due to take place from July 23 - August 8, 2021.

"We are one year and two months away, so it's way too early to draw any conclusions," he said.