For the first time in 124 years of history, the Olympic Games are being postponed. Because of the corona virus pandemic, the world’s largest sporting event will only take place in Japan next year. This was announced by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday after a teleconference in which the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the German Thomas Bach, also took part.
Bach had “100 percent” approved his proposal to postpone the summer games by one year. The IOC immediately convened a special session. According to Abe, the latest date is summer 2021.
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Recently the pressure on the host country and the IOC to postpone the summer games had grown. Some countries, such as Australia and Canada, had already canceled this year due to the risk of contagion. Organizers of other sporting events, such as the European Football Championship, had been quicker with their decisions.
The last time there were no games in 1940 and 1944
The IOC played for a long time to see whether the corona virus could still be contained. However, in view of the fact that almost 380,000 people are infected worldwide and more than 16,500 dead, this attitude only caused resentment. According to a report by the Japanese newspaper Sankei are about 70 percent of the Japanese for not holding the Olympic Games this July.
The Summer Olympics have never been canceled or postponed in peacetime. The last time there had been no games during the Second World War in 1940 and 1944. In 1940 they were originally supposed to take place in Tokyo as well, but were later moved to Helsinki before being canceled due to the outbreak of war.
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