Tokyo Olympics delayed by one year amid coronavirus pandemic
Tokyo Olympics have bern delayed by about one year over coronavirus pandemic, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday.
Abe told reporters he and the head of the International Olympic Committee agreed to delay the Tokyo Olympics by about one year.
“We asked President Bach to consider postponement of about one year to make it possible for athletes to play in the best condition, and to make the event a safe and secure one for spectators,” Abe told reporters after a phone call with IOC President Thomas Bach on postponing the Games amid growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
“President Bach said he is in agreement 100 percent.”
Preparations had been completed when the virus started spreading across the world in January.
Local newspapers quoted Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike as separately telling reporters the Games, to be convened by summer of 2021, would still be branded “Tokyo 2020”.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
