Leadership / 03.25.20

On Hold: Tokyo Olympics Postponed to 2021

Access Staff

Associated Press (03/24/20) Pells, Eddie; Wade, Stephen; Yamaguchi, Mari

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The committee stated that the events "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 Tokyo Games will still be called the 2020 Olympics. The IOC's decision took longer than usual so it could work out the logistics. Many venues and hotels are under contract for games held from July 24 to Aug. 7, and rearranging those contracts will be costly. Tokyo has already spent a reported $28 billion to stage the games. Olympic committees in Canada and Australia were saying prior to the IOC's decision that they either would not, or could not, send a team to Tokyo in July. World Athletics and the three biggest sports in the United States — swimming, track and gymnastics — also were calling for a postponement.

Read the full story from the Associated Press. 

Tags: Sports , Olympics , News , COVID-19 , Coronavirus