Tokyo [Japan], Mar 24 : It is for the first time in the history of the mega global event that the Olympics have been postponed by a year.
The decision was confirmed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday after the orgsing body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule to the Tokyo Olympics in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Olympics were cancelled in the past were never postponed. In 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Games were cancelled because of the World Wars.
The Tokyo Olympics will now take place next year.
The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.
"In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community," the IOC said in an official statement.
"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," the statement added.
The IOC was under immense pressure to postpone the games as the entire world has been sent in a lockdown due to COVID-19.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) on Monday had announced they will not send their teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic.
The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9, while the Paralympic Games were scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6.
( With inputs from ANI )