The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed due to the Coronavirus Pendamic until the next year, costing Japan for a total cost of £5 billion.
Dick Pound, the veteran International Olympic Committee member, stated that as per the information IOC has, the Olympics won’t be started until July of next month as the future condition of the pandemic is yet not predicted.
Until now, the final rescheduled dates for the Tokyo Olympics have not been confirmed yet.
During the crisis talks between the Japanese government and the International Olympic Commission, it was implied seeing the growing impact of Coronavirus, the biggest multi-sports event in the world must be postponed for the first time in the history of 125 years.
Olympics to be Rescheduled in Summer 2021
Now the sports and athletes all over the world are awaiting the final dates for the Tokyo Olympics which is likely to be rescheduled in the Summer of the year 2021.
As per a formal statement issued by the prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, the decision of the postponement has been made in order to ensure that the athletes could compete in the peak condition and also to ensure the safety of the audience who come from all over the world to spectate the sports event.
Later, in a joint statement by IOC and Japan organizing committee, it was stated that the games would be postponed for the year 2020 but would not be rescheduled any later than the summer of 2020, in lieu of the safety of sportsman and organizers.
However, the postponement of the game has also been a blow to the organizing country, Japan, which has spent a huge amount of money on organizing the sporting event.
With the sponsors and broadcasters being at stake, it has been estimated that if the Olympics are not organized as planned, Japan has to face a loss of over $4.5 billion in the domestic and inbound consumption.
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Reactions on the Tokyo Olympics Postponement
The decision of postponement of the Olympics by the Japanese government and IOC has received a mixed reaction of disappointment and resignation from the country citizens over social media.
As per the stats, 70% of the people already expected the Olympics games to not go ahead of this summer 2020 and were expecting the biggest sports event to be a victim of the greatest pandemic of the century.
The inevitable decision of the Japanese government and the International Olympics Commission was made evitable when one of the members of the Team GB’s Taekwondo staff was found to be tested positive for Coronavirus.
Yuji Ota, vice president of the Japan Fencing Federation, greeted thanks to everyone who has been involved in the preparation of the Olympics.
As per his statement, he stated that he wanted to thank all of the contributors to Olympics preparation and it means a lot. However, ay this present scenario, it is at the priority of saving ourselves and others from this fast-spreading virus.
In the meantime, Benoît Vêtu, the head coach of the Japan track cycling team, supported the decision made by IOC by stating that it is the correct decision made seeing the present scenario around the world.
He further added that he is not sure as of now how the cyclist must be feeling about the decision but he is sure that they must be motivated and will stay motivated for another year until the final dates of Olympics will be communicated.
He added to his support of the postponement decision by saying that his tea consists of various talented rides who will have an extra year for improvement.
Conclusion
Seeing the growing impact of the pandemic coronavirus, IOC and the Japanese government has decided to postpone the Olympic Games for the year 2020.
Although the biggest multi-sports event has not been postponed in the last 125 years of history, the decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of the athletes and sportsperson.
Though the organizing country is facing a lot of financial loss due to the postponement, the safety of the participants and spectators come at priority for the organizing committee. The final rescheduled dates for the Olympics have not been released yet and are expected to be rescheduled no later than summer 2021.
