In a recent development, the new dates of the Tokyo Olympics have been confirmed. The quadrennial tournament which was scheduled to happen in July this year will now happen between 23 July and 8 August in 2021. The same was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday after a meeting of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were pushed back by the IOC in consultation with the Japanese government, in view of the health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
An official statement from IOC also states that the Paralympic Games will now be held from 24 August to 5 September.
“These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read.
IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government announce new dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 https://t.co/QITtT5dcl8 pic.twitter.com/DHi4u74ZXa
— Olympics (@Olympics) March 30, 2020
“The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the international federations,” it added.
“Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented,” the statement further said.
Interestingly, the new dates have been announced within a week after the Olympics were forced to postpone the tournament, in best interest of the fans as well as the athletes.
Meanwhile, IOC president Thomas Bach said, “I want to thank the international federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days.”
“I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact,” he added.
“With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, the Tokyo metropolitan government, the Japanese government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel,” he concluded.