UPDATE: 2020 Tokyo Olympics Officially Postponed Due to Coronavirus
UPDATE: 03/24/2020 9:06 AM – The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics has been officially postponed until 2021.
Per multiple outlets including The Washington Post and The Hollywood Reporter, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement, “I have made a proposal of about a year. [IOC] President [Thomas] Bach said he agreed 100 percent and we agreed to hold the Olympics by summer 2021.”
ORIGINAL STORY
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled to begin on July 24, is going to be postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with USA Today, longtime International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided. The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
As far as rescheduling the games, they are likely to now take place in 2021 with Pound adding, “It will come in stages. We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
The Olympic games were one of the last major events to announce postponement or cancelation due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The postponement comes after Team Canada said in a statement they would not be sending any athletes to the Olympic or Paralympic games saying, “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 for these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.”
Pound had previously said in a February interview with the Associated Press that if the coronavirus outbreak isn’t under control by late May, the entire Tokyo Olympics could be canceled.
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