Tokyo Olympics will commence from July 23, 2021
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will now take place from July 23 to August 8 next year, an official told news agency Kyodo on Monday. The Tokyo Games which were scheduled to commence from July 24 later this year, were postponed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to report, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organizers unanimously decided the new dates. Here is more.
Committee decided to reschedule the Games in 2021 summer
"We originally agreed to postpone the games to the summer of 2021 at the latest, but we wanted to hold them in the summer," Tokyo Games organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori told in a press conference.
The decision has been taken keeping international calendar in mind
As per the report, the new dates have been planned keeping in mind the international sports calendar and the interest of athletes. The schedule also provides ample time for the nations to go through with the qualification process. In addition to it, the organisers have also tried to minimize the disruption of global sporting events, along with managing logistical challenges.
Paralympic Games will begin on August 24 in 2021
Tokyo Organising Committee President Mori Yoshiro confirmed the new schedule of Paralympic Games. The Games are set to commence on August 24 and will be concluded on September 5 next year. Meanwhile, the IOC President Thomas Bach thanked the Federations for sticking around. "I want to thank the International Federations and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership," he said.
Speculations shrouded the Tokyo Games in the past few days
Following the postponement of Tokyo 2020 Games, there were several speculations hovering around the fresh dates. However, Thomas Bach cleared that the Olympics could be scheduled beyond 2020, but not later than the summer of 2021. According to a joint statement by the IOC and Japan PM Shinzo Abe, the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
