The start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo has been officially rescheduled for July 23rd, 2021. This was announced on Monday by the Tokyo organizing committee.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to postpone the competition until next year due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic. After considering several options, including a possible spring date, the organizers opted to have the opening ceremony exactly one year after it was originally scheduled to take place.
“The schedule for the games is key to preparing for the games,” said Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee. “This will only accelerate our progress.”
According to Mori, moving the Olympics to spring was rejected as an option due to other competitions that usually take place during that time including major soccer leagues and sports competitions in North America. The committee also wanted to give an opportunity for more athletes to qualify, as numerous qualifying events were recently canceled due to coronavirus.
IOC initially set a four-week deadline in order to make the final decision on whether to postpone the Olympics or move forward with the previously set date. Following the pressure from both countries and athletes, however, the decision was made to postpone it for 2021.
