Tokyo Olympics Officially Postponed to 2021 Over Coronavirus Pandemic

The Tokyo Olympics are to be postponed for one year after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee released a joint statement today confirming the news.

The President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, and Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, reached the decision during a conference call this morning, declaring that a postponement rather than a cancellation was the best course of action.

On Sunday, Bach announced that the IOC would take 4 weeks to evaluate options to proceed and make a plan for postponement or holding the Games as planned; however, in the 24 hours after that meeting, their hand was forced when two major participants Canada and Australia both announced that they would not participate in an Olympic Games that began in July 2020.

The Games are to be “rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021”.

It has also been agreed that the Games will keep the name ‘Tokyo 2020’ despite taking place the following year. As well as this, the Olympic flame is to remain in Japan and become “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

According to Johns Hopkins University, on Tuesday morning, as the announcement was made, there were nearly 393,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide with 1,140 of those cases in Japan. Japan also has 42 registered deaths caused by COVID-19, which is the name of the disease that the novel coronavirus causes.

The World Health Organization warned on Monday that the pandemic is “accelerating” and that nations must ‘attack’ the outbreak.

Full Joint Statement

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.

President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is “accelerating”. There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, 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 leaders agreed that the Olympic Games 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.

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pete kennedy
4 years ago

The 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled.
Japan had been awarded the Games in 1937 at the OC meeting in Warsaw as they
wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Empire. But Japan
had invaded Manchuria so the bid was under severe scrutiny. Brundage with
Kiphuth of Yale in tow made an emergency visit to Japan. However, Japan’s
military war machine withdrew the bid in late 1938. Brundage now threw his support
to Helsinki. But on Sept. 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland causing the cancellation of the
Games in 1940 and 1948. Helsinki gave into pressure to allow London to host the
1948 Games with the promise that 1952… Read more »

Verram
4 years ago

The 2021 Olympics will depend on what other virus comes out of China in the next year or so .. following SARS and Covid .. just saying

Ladyvoldisser
Reply to  Verram
4 years ago

ABSOLUTELY – The doubters who thought the NCAAs were a go, the same who said NO WAY the Olympics would be delayed WILL down vote BUT the reality is the Olympics are done and done in Japan. We should focus on life, health and some semblance of economic stability. We WILL have a fine 2024 Olympic event! NCAA football, NFL – etc is out of luck in 2020. That is the SAD REALITY we will face folks.

BobbyJones
Reply to  Ladyvoldisser
4 years ago

Love the positive vibe of this comment. No need for goodnews.com Your comments are the best for positive attitude vibes!

Kristiina
4 years ago

The Tokyo Olympics must be moved elsewhere. Do you really want to run into this thing? It is not known when repeated but in history has been three times the magnitude of 8 in 1677.1703 and 1923. In 1923years killed 105000 inhabitants. No Foreschoks. The Tsunami’s been 3-12m. Mt. Fuji erupts regularly after 100-150 years but last 300 years ago. Fuji is 70km from the city centre. In Zagreb, we saw a double disaster in the minimsize where the 7000building became collapsed. ‎‎https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kantō_earthquake‎

Kristiina
4 years ago

It’s frustrating because there’s no other decision to take it elsewhere. 2021 Olympics the best place would be London or Dubai. The probability of a variant of the earthquake disaster in Zagreb is, according to the seismologists, nearly 40% and we are talking about the magnitudes of 7.1 and 8% likely to have more than 8 magnitude and the accompanying tsunamis, Fuji volcanic eruption, etc. The Kanto faulting has been locked in the Olympic for a moment for 98years. In Tokyo to do the Olympics is a grazy risk.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Kristiina
4 years ago

Grazy indeed.

swamfan
4 years ago

great news for Carson Foster, Luca Urlando, ALex Walsh, and Tori Huske.

A$AP Pocky
4 years ago

They’ve just given Carson Foster another year to continue improving and become a world-beater

Kristiina
4 years ago

Tokyo olympic must replace London also. In Zagreb happened what could also happening in Tokyo. Big earthquake directly Tokyo. Zagreb was only 5,5Magnitude but Tokyo could 8.0-8,5magnitude in directly. Kanto trough locked already 97 years. Also mt. Fuji is active vulcano.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Kristiina
4 years ago

You never know when Godzilla will show up with a fondness for Tokyo.

Nswim
4 years ago

Rikako Ikee may actually get to the Olympics this cycle if this is the case. Her recovery is going smoothly and I’d love to see her qualify

Carlos Torres
Reply to  Nswim
4 years ago

That would be amazing

Pvdh
Reply to  Nswim
4 years ago

Oh yes! I didn’t consider that.