2020 Tokyo Olympics officially postponed due to coronavirus

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have officially been postponed ‘beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021’ due to the coronavirus pandemic.

UPDATE: The 2020 Toyko Olympics have officially been postponed, the President of the IOC and the Prime Minister of Japan announced on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the leaders said 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 games will also keep the Tokyo 2020 name despite the schedule change.

“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.”

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will not start on July 24th, according to Veteran International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound. The Olympic Games will likely take place sometime in 2021, with more details to come in the next month, Pound told USA Today.

IOC President Thomas Bach has previously ruled out canceling the Games. This announcement comes just a day after the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees said they will not send athletes to Tokyo if the Olympics were not postponed. Australia also came out saying something similar. Many other countries had urged to IOC to postpone without necessarily saying athletes would not be sent if they didn’t.

According to USA Today, this is the first time the Olympics games have been postponed, with a few other Games being canceled entirely during times of war.

This is just the latest major change in sports due to the growing concern over the global coronavirus pandemic, and by far the largest. Major sports events throughout the world were either canceled or changed significantly to help prevent the spread of the virus. Countries like Italy held major soccer matches without any fans in attendance before putting seasons on hold, and the UFC held a major event in the same way.

Professional and college sports leagues and tournaments were also postponed or canceled due to the virus. The NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament was canceled and professional leagues like the NBA, NHL, and MLB have suspended play until further notice. The NFL did not push back the start of its league year, but forbade teams from having formal workouts and meetings during free agency and will hold their annual draft in a studio instead of with fans present.

The ramifications of this decision by the IOC are immense, according to Pound. This decision is only the first step of the Committee’s response and more details will be known in the coming weeks.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.