Coronavirus: Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed by one year after Abe’s call with IOC chief

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach have agreed to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Abe and Bach held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to Covid-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, a statement from the IOC and the Games Organising Committee said.

“President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games,” the statement said.

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC president and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo 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 leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the statement continued.

“Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”