July 2021 targeted to start Olympics

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, will likely open on July 23, 2021, according to people familiar with the matter.

The International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers bowed to widespread pressure among athletes, sports federations and national Olympic committees and Tuesday agreed to postpone the games to 2021, but left the new date in question. The opening ceremony of the games had been scheduled for July 24.

The IOC said a final decision could come in weeks, but it is now much more likely to be announced earlier, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of guidance issued by the IOC. Japanese state broadcaster NHK on Saturday also reported July 23, 2021, as the new target.

The IOC will convene an emergency meeting of its decision-making executive board Sunday to discuss the decision.

Mark Adams, a spokesman for the organization, gave a one-word answer, “speculation.”

The decision to pick an almost identical date to this year’s event is not particularly surprising, given the challenges to squeeze the Olympics in an already packed sporting calendar. It also is the best time for the U.S. broadcaster, NBCUniversal, which pays more than $1 billion for the U.S. media rights to each Olympic Games.

But it means the games will still take place during Tokyo’s hottest time of the year, an issue that was already causing worry and complications.

On a call within the past week with IOC president Thomas Bach, above, some federations, including those representing swimming, table tennis, triathlon and equestrian, had voiced a preference to hold the Olympics in the spring. That, though, would have led to a clash with the seasons for major soccer leagues and many of the richest U.S. sports leagues.