FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan
Government Announce New Dates for the
Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020
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 Yoshiro, 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
Shinzo 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 Yoshiro, said:
"IOC President Thomas Bach and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee held
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 , in
agreement with Japan, will remain the Games of the XXXII Olympiad.
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent
international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to
building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per
cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every
day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and
sports organisations at all levels around the world.
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