Tokyo Olympics to run from July 23 to Aug 8 next year

TOKYO • Japanese organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday decided that the Tokyo Games will start on July 23 next year.

In an unprecedented decision, the Olympics were postponed last week due to the deepening coronavirus pandemic and it was initially suggested they may be rescheduled for next spring.

But organisers have now settled on the same summer slot planned for this year, with the global event now running until Aug 8.

IOC president Thomas Bach said in an official statement: "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."

Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, added: "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 in Japan would be preferable.

"The event schedule is the cornerstone of future preparations, and making this decision promptly will help speed up future preparations... the organising committee will continue to work hard."

The new schedule could not have been facilitated without the support from World Athletics, who yesterday confirmed it would shift next year's world championships in Eugene, Oregon, to 2022.

The Paralympics will be held from Aug 24 to Sept 5 next year, and Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike called the new dates "ideal" before confirming the metropolitan government would "now fully prepare for the delivery of Games that are safe and secure".

The traditional July-August date means there will be "minimum" disruption to the global sports calendar and allow the IOC to call on the presence of top football, tennis, golf and basketball players.

They include some of the biggest names in global sport and are a big attraction for television audiences.

Bach has already confirmed that athletes who have already qualified will be guaranteed a berth in Tokyo and quota places already assigned will remain unchanged.

As for tickets, purchased ones will still be valid for rescheduled events, with refunds to be issued to fans who can no longer attend.

Other challenges remain, such as the rearranging of qualifiers wrecked by Covid-19 and the prevailing heat issues - the race-walking and marathon events were moved to Sapporo as a result.

The fate of the athletes' village is also uncertain - it had been scheduled to be turned into luxury flats in the second half of this year.

But with the concrete dates, all parties can now push forward to put on the best possible Games next year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES, THE GUARDIAN