Tokyo Olympics Postponed

The 2020 Olympic games due to be held in Tokyo, Japan, in July have been postponed as a result of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The Paralympic games have similarly been delayed.

A substitute date has not yet been announced. However, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated that they will take place no later than summer 2021.

The event will still be referred to as Tokyo 2020, despite the fact the event will now likely take place in 2021.

The delay comes as the World Health Organisation said the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating. There are now over 425,000 cases recorded globally, with almost 19,000 deaths. More than 109,000 have recovered.

Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday released a statement highlighting the “unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak.”

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today [Tuesday], the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” the statement read.

Prior to the announcement Canada announced it was withdrawing from the event as a result of the pandemic, while Australia said it was clear the games could not proceed and the UK suggested it was unlikely to send a team.

This is the first time the Olympics have been delayed, although previous editions were cancelled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during World War One and World War Two.