The question of how the sports world will proceed after coronavirus pandemic subsides is up in the air for most of the world, but for those in charge of the Olympics a calendar could be falling into place. A report from the New York Times reveals that officials are planning on kicking off the postponed games on July 23, 2021. The date is almost a year to the day of when the Olympics were supposed to kick off this year, which was July 24.
The International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday that the games would be postponed until at least 2021 after officials could no longer ignore the realities of the viral respiratory disease. The decision also came after an outpouring of concerns voiced by athletes and officials from other countries stating that athletes were unable to train for the most important event of their lives under current circumstances.
The official announcement is expected to come much earlier than planned as Japanese state broadcaster NHK reported the July 23, 2021, date as the new target for the Tokyo Games, according to the Times report. The IOC will now convene on Sunday to discuss the decision.
Mark Adams, a spokesman for the organization, told the New York Times that the announcement of the date was "speculation."
This kind of postponement is the first of its kind in Olympic history. The Games in 1916, 1940 and 1944 were all canceled because of World War I and World War II.
