The 2020 Tokyo Olympic games are officially postponed, according to a joint statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee on Tuesday. The games were originally slated to begin on July 24th will be delayed due to the “accelerating” spread of the coronavirus worldwide.
“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,” the statement began. “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.”
But the statement continued to say that while officials had agreed that the 2020 Olympic Games needed to be rescheduled, a firm date has not yet been set.
“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 Olympic flame will remain in Japan for the time being, and officials stated “the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”
The news came nearly two days after Australia and Canada announced they would not be sending any athletes to the Tokyo games due to health risks, and urged the Olympics to be postponed until 2021.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), backed by their Athletes’ Commissions, National Sports Organizations and the Government of Canada, have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020,” the organizations said in a joint statement on the official Team Canada website.
“This is not solely about athlete health – it is about public health. With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.”
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