Rabat – The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, originally set to kick off in July, will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021, announced the president of the upcoming games, Yoshiro Mori, today, March 30.
The Olympics will begin 364 days after the original schedule, Mori announced at a press conference, due to health concerns over the global spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Although they will technically take place in 2021, the games will still be called “Tokyo 2020.”
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel,” said the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.
The IOC’s executive board met Monday, March 30, to set the competition’s dates.
Just a few weeks after the Summer Olympics, the Paralympics will begin August 24 and conclude September 5, 2021.
The Moroccan National Olympic Committee (CNOM) announced yesterday, March 29, it would bring Moroccan sports federations regular updates on plans for the delayed Olympics, according to Maghreb Arab Press.
In a March 27 conference call between Thomas Bach and all national Olympic committees, the IOC’s careful consideration behind the postponement was evident, CNOM said.
All qualifying events for the Olympics are suspended until May 31. However, any athletes who already qualified for the Olympics will be allowed to compete next summer.
Just 10 days ago, the Olympic flame arrived in Japan, and organizers said the games would go ahead.
As countries and individual athletes pulled out ahead of the games, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had to announce, on March 24, a postponement to the global sporting event.
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