2021 Dates Announced for Tokyo Olympics Postponement

The Tokyo Olympics will now commence on July 23, 2021 and close on August 8, 2021, nearly exactly one year after their originally scheduled dates.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

After the announcement that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, new dates in 2021 have been announced. The Olympics, still to be held in Tokyo, will now commence on July 23, 2021 and close on August 8, 2021, nearly exactly one year after their originally scheduled dates of July 24, 2020 through August 9, 2020. The Paralympics will follow suit, running from August 24, 2021 through September 5, 2021.

This announcement comes after IOC President Thomas Bach, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and Olympic and Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko came to a mutual agreement on the best path forward for the Games.

“The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum,” the IOC said in a statement. “Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented.”

The decision of new dates now allows athletes and their federations to move forward with a training plan. With any hope, the uncertainty that has surrounded the Olympic sports and the qualifying schedule that leads up to the Games can now be put to rest and we can set our eyes on what is shaping up to be an unexpectedly action-packed 2021.