The International Olympics Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 organisers have decided a new date for the games, which has been postponed due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus.
The new games will start on July 23 next year, with the Closing Ceremony taking place on August 8.
For the 11,000 athletes and multitudes of others who have built lives, careers and businesses around the Games, the new date sets off more than a year of upheaval and complex planning, unprecedented for an event that has been cancelled only three times during war and never previously moved to a new date.
The Paralympic Games, which were supposed to start Aug. 24, will now take place in 2021 from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, told sports federations on a conference call before the announcement that the date was picked to give organizers the maximum time to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus.
When he called for a show of support on the call, it was unanimous. – Agency report.
