Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games rescheduled to 2021

By Duncan Mlanjira

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which was set for this July, has been rescheduled for July 23 to August 8, 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces in a joint statement with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.

The rescheduling of the XXXII Olympiad has been necessitated following the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is ‘accelerating’.

“Dates in both the northern hemisphere spring and summer had been considered by organizers, following the declaration last week that the Games would take place “no later than summer 2021” because of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said the statement by IOC president Thomas Bach and Mori Yoshiro, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.

“The schedule for the Games is key to preparing for the Games hence believed to be favored,” said the statement. “Last week, the IOC and Japanese organizers postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“This year’s Games were scheduled to open on July 24 and close on August 9. But the near-exact one-year delay will see the rescheduled closing ceremony on August 8 as the Paralympics were rescheduled to Aug. 24-Sept. 5.”

The rescheduling of the Games, which was also agreed by the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe is to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.

“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic Flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present.

“Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic Flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020,” said last week’s statement at a meeting that also had the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.

President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games,” said the statement.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the international media last week that COVID-19 pandemic is “accelerating” and that there were more than 375,000 cases then recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

Ghebreyesus said it was still possible to change its trajectory by going on the attack.

Through a virtual news conference, Ghebreyesus said it took 67 days from the beginning of the outbreak in China in December for the virus to infect the first 100,000 people worldwide.

In comparison, it took 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just four days for the third 100,000 cases and that the number of officially recorded cases is believed to represent only a fraction of the true number of infections, with many countries only testing the most severe cases in need of hospitalisation.

“We are not helpless bystanders. We can change the trajectory of this pandemic,” Ghebreyesus is quoted as saying.

He was also joined by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Ghebreyesus compared the fight against COVID-19 to football tactics.

“You can’t win a football game only by defending. You have to attack as well,” Tedros said.

Physical distancing could buy time by slowing down the spread, “but they are defensive measures that will not help us to win,” he warned.

“To win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics,” he said, reiterating a call for “testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case and tracing and quarantining every close contact.”

Ghebreyesus and Infantino launched a joint campaign aimed at spreading the message of how to protect against infection so as to “kick out coronavirus”.

In a social media video clip, football stars from around the globe spelled out five simple steps to take on “hands, elbow, face, distance and feel.”

Barcelona and Argentina icon Lionel Messi added voice to the preventive measures, saying: “For your face, avoid touching your eyes, your nose and your mouth. This can prevent the virus from entering your body.”

Samuel Eto’o, one of Africa’s greatest strikers, added: “If you feel unwell, stay home.”