2020 Tokyo Olympics Postponed Due To Coronavirus
While the 2020 Olympics were set to take place in Tokyo this summer, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound stated they will now be postponed, likely until 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pound stated, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided. The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
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Initially, Japan’s Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto tried to urged officials to hold off on postponing the years-long planned event, as he told reporters on March 17 that the country would still host the July 24 event, despite the pandemic.
Hashimoto stated, “A complete Olympics is what we are aiming for. We will do our utmost to prepare [to hold the Olympics] as scheduled so that the International Olympic Committee will be convinced we are capable of hosting the games.”
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To support, then, the IOC also issued a statement:
“The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive.”
Although the postponing arrives with logistical issues for the IOC and Tokyo, addressing the risks of spreading the virus trumps everything.