IOC postpones Olympics till 2021

The International Olympics Committee has made the decision to postpone the Olympics scheduled for July 24, 2020 till summer 2021.

This decision was made after several pleas from participating countries and Japanese prime minister’s request to postpone the games due to measures to contain Covid-19.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by IOC on Wednesday March 25th, 2020.

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the World Health Organization 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 20121, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” the statement reads.

The committee’s decision ended the several weeks of speculation over the possibility of postponing the games.

Even though the Games has been postponed till summer 2021, the IOC still insists on tagging the Games 2020 Tokyo Olympics

“The Games will still be held not later than summer 2021, but will still be called 2020 Tokyo Olympics.” IOC stated.

The chief executive of the British Olympic Association, Andy Anson, while reacting to the decision said, “It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact COVID -19 is having on our nation, our communities and families.”

“The virus has compromised the athletes training and preparation, but urged the athletes to stop bothering about the Olympics game and ‘be home and safe with their families,” Andy added.