New sports for Tokyo Games to be decided in 2016, says IOC

John Coates, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad - Tokyo 2020, attends a news conference in Tokyo November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - 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, IOC Vice President John Coates said on Thursday.

Programme 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, with baseball and softball -- out of the Games since Beijing in 2008 -- believed to be prime contenders.