Tokyo Olympics to be postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic

[Northerner]

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has proposed a one-year postponement for the Tokyo Olympics during talks with the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach.

Abe said they had established that cancelling the Games was out of the question, and that Bach had agreed “100%” that a postponement was the most appropriate response to the global disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We agreed that a postponement would be the best way to ensure that the athletes are in peak condition when they compete and to guarantee the safety of the spectators,” Abe told reporters shortly after his conversation with Bach, adding that the Games would be held by the summer of 2021.

Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic

The Tokyo Olympics are to be postponed until 2021 after talks between Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and the IOC president, Thomas Bach

www.theguardian.com

Had to happen

 

[grovesy]

Not before time, you did not have to be a genius to realise it would not go ahead.

 

[mikeyB]

Yup, no surprise. It’s a bummer for those athletes hoping to reach a peak in the summer, but in the great scheme of things it’s no big deal. It'll save the beleaguered BBC a shedload of money.