Unprecedented: Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed to 2021
TOKYO: The Tokyo Olympics were postponed on Tuesday to next year, the first such delay in the Games’ 124-year modern history, as the Covid-19 crisis wrecked the biggest global sporting showpiece. New dates have not been discussed yet.
Though a huge blow to Japan, which has invested $12 billion in the run-up, the decision was a relief to thousands of athletes fretting over how to train as the world headed into lockdown to fight a disease that has claimed more than 16,500 lives.
Pressure had been building on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its German president, Thomas Bach, with some athletes and sports bodies angry that a seemingly inevitable decision had taken so long. The decision came a day after Canada and Australia announced they would not take part if the Games was held on its original dates---july 24 to August 9.
After telephone discussions between Bach and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint decision was taken to delay the Olympics—the first time that has been done in peacetime.
Olympics were not held in 1916, 1940 and 1944 because of the World Wars. IOC announced the Olympics will be staged no later than the summer of 2021.
Abe said Bach was in “100 percent agreement” when Japan asked IOC to push back the Games. In a joint statement, they said the Games “must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympics in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present.
“Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the statement said.
Olympic officials regularly lauded Tokyo as the best prepared host city they had seen. But no one could have planned for the pandemic. The Olympics, which has experienced boycotts, terrorist attacks and protests but has been held every four years since 1948, is the highest-profile event affected by the virus.