COVID-19 : Tokyo 2020 Suffers Postponement

COVID-19 : Tokyo 2020 Suffers Postponement

By Sampson Adedeji

After discussions and deliberations, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games has been postponed till 2021 due to the outbreak of Corona virus which has locked down many sporting activities around the globe.

The event, due to begin on 24 July, will now take place no later than summer 2021, BSN Reports

In a joint statement, the organisers of Tokyo 2020 and the IOC said: "The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating.

"On Monday, the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is 'accelerating'.

"There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

"In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today (Tuesday), 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 statements reads.

The Olympics have never been delayed in their 124-year modern history, though they were cancelled altogether in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during the two world wars.