COVID-19 Impact: Tokyo 2020 Olympics to be held in 2021, confirms IOC Official

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics which was scheduled to start from July 24, is likely to be postponed to the next year, as confirmed by the International Olympic Association (IOC) member Dick Pound. 

Dick Pound has confirmed to the USA Today that the 2020 Olympic Games will be postponed by one year because of the deadly coronavirus, however, the dates and schedules are yet to be sorted and finalized. 

“On the basis of the information the IOC has, the postponement has been decided. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on 24 July, that much I know.” Pound was quoted as saying to the USA Today.

Yesterday, Canada and Australia had threatened to pull out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics if no action on the postponement of the event would be taken by the IOC. Before that USA Track & Field Association had also appealed to the IOC and Tokyo Organizing committee to reschedule the mega event until the Coronavirus is not combated completely. 

The IOC had already hinted of planning for the postponement scenario, with the idea of moving on from the schedule and replan everything which was later announced by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who ruled out the possibility of the Summer Games. 

“If it is difficult to hold (the games) in a complete way, a decision of postponement would be unavoidable,” Shinzo Abe said.

John Coates, the head of the Australian Olympic Committee and also the head of the inspection team of the Tokyo Olympics also issued a statement saying it was advising its athletes to prepare for an Olympics in 2021. 

Japan is spending around $12.6 billion to host the Summer Olympics, but as per the reports, the actual amount seems to be twice the revealed amount. Meanwhile, the IOC has a reserve fund of about $2 billion to cope up with the losses and also the insurance against any postponement or cancelation.