The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed new dates for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, in 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be celebrated from 23 July to 8 August 2021. They also agreed on new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will be celebrated from 24 August until 5 September 2021.
The leaderships of the key parties came together
via telephone conference earlier today, joined by IOC President Thomas Bach,
Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and Olympic and
Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko, and agreed on the new schedule.
This decision was taken based on three main
considerations and in line with the principles established by the IOC Executive
Board (EB) on 17 March 2020 and confirmed at its meeting today. These were
supported by all the International Summer Olympic Sports Federations (IFs) and
all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs):
1. To protect the health of the athletes and
everyone involved, and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus.
2. To safeguard the interests of the athletes and
of Olympic sport.
3. The global international sports calendar.
These new dates give the health authorities and all
involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the
constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19
pandemic. The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for
2020 (Olympic Games: 24 July to 9 August 2020 and Paralympic Games: 25 August
to 6 September 2020), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the
postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a
minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs. Additionally, they will
provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat
mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented.
In a call on Tuesday 24 March 2020, based on
information provided by the WHO at the time, IOC President Thomas Bach and
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō concluded that the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
would be held in their complete form and not later than summer 2021. The Prime
Minister reiterated that the government of Japan stands ready to fulfil its
responsibility for hosting these successful Games. At the same time, IOC
President Thomas Bach stressed the full commitment of the IOC to successful
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Following today’s decision, the IOC President said:
“I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and
the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great
partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few
days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we
have been in constant contact. With this announcement, I am confident that,
working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we
can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a
dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this
tunnel.”
Andrew Parsons, the President of the IPC,
commented: “It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for
the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes,
reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole
world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be
an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human
resilience and a sensational showcase of sport. With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic
Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic
Movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during
this unprecedented and difficult time.”
The President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising
Committee, Mori Yoshirō, said: “IOC President Thomas Bach and the Tokyo 2020
Organising Committee held a conference call today to discuss in detail the
revised dates of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and
Paralympic Games Hashimoto Seiko and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko joined the
call. I proposed that the Games should be hosted between July and August 2021,
and I really appreciate that President Bach, having discussed this proposal
with the various international sports federations and other related
organisations, kindly accepted my proposal. A certain amount of time is
required for the selection and qualification of athletes and for their training
and preparation, and the consensus was that staging the rescheduled Games
during the summer vacation in Japan would be preferable. In terms of transport,
arranging volunteers and the provision of tickets for those in Japan and
overseas, as well as allowing for the COVID-19 situation, we think that it
would be better to reschedule the Games to one year later than planned, in the
summer of 2021. Notwithstanding the postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games for the first time in history, and various other issues that have already
been highlighted, the event schedule is the cornerstone of future preparations,
and I am convinced that taking this decision promptly will help speed up future
preparations. I would like to thank all the stakeholders, including the host
city Tokyo and the Government of Japan, for their hard work during this short
period. The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will continue to work hard for the
success of next year's Games.”
Governor Koike Yuriko said: “In consideration
of the global coronavirus outbreak, we need a certain timeframe before we
fully prepare for the delivery of Games that are safe and secure
for the athletes and spectators. Also, the preparation for the new
dates will go smoothly, as the dates match with same timeframe as the original
competition dates, corresponding with ticketing, venue staffing,
volunteers and transport. Therefore, I believe that celebrating the
opening of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 23 July 2021 is ideal.
The athletes, volunteers, torchbearers and local municipality governments
have been concerned about the situation. Since we now have concrete
new dates to aim for, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will
commit all its resources, and work closely with the Tokyo 2020
Organising Committee, the national government and other stakeholders to
fully prepare for the delivery of Games that are safe and secure.”
It has previously been confirmed that all athletes
already qualified and quota places already assigned for the Olympic Games Tokyo
2020 will remain unchanged. This is a result of the fact that these
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in agreement with Japan, will remain the Games
of the XXXII Olympiad.
