The Olympics Is Postponed. So What Happens Now? – Q&AThe new dates for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will likely be revealed this week, according to the Japanese organisers.
The International Olympic Committee announced last week of their historic decision to postpone the Games until next year, “beyond 2020 but no later than summer 2021.”
Tokyo 2020 chief, Yoshiro Mori, told reporters they were weighing the pros and cons of a summer and spring Games and he expected a decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) soon.
"I think perhaps there will be some kind of communication from (IOC) President (Thomas) Bach this week," Mori told reporters.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were due to open on Jul 24 and run for 16 days, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the first peace-time postponement of the Games.
The IOC and Japan had for weeks insisted the show could go on but the rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted growing disquiet among athletes and sporting federations.
The Olympics was the highest-profile sporting casualty of the coronavirus that has wiped out fixtures worldwide and all but halted professional sport.
There was some speculation that Japanese organisers could take advantage of the blank canvas to shift the Games to spring, avoiding the heat of the Tokyo summer that had been their main concern before coronavirus struck.
Now, the Olympics organizers appear to be leaning away from starting the rescheduled games next spring and more toward waiting until the summer of 2021. Mori suggested there would be no major changes.
“The games are meant to be in summer, so we should be thinking of a time between June and September,” Mori said.
With the ongoing pandemic and need for preparation time, the most likely plan would be for the Games to begin on Jul 23, 2021.
The postponement affects every aspect of the organisation - hotels, ticketing, venues and transport being among the major headaches. We took look at the most pressing questions that face the postponement of the Games.
