Tokyo Olympics confirm next year’s dates for the delayed Games, with the opening ceremony to begin on July 23 before wrapping up on August 8 (but it’s still called the 2021 Olympics!)
- The Olympics slated for 2021 has new dates after it was pushed back from 2020
- Japan were forced to postpone the games due to the coronavirus outbreak
- Now the opening ceremony will start of July 23 before finishing on August 8
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The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have confirmed their key dates for the tournament after it was pushed back to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan were forced to delay the highly-anticipated tournament with the killer virus sweeping its way around the world and bringing the world of sport to its knees.
Now the opening ceremony of the games will now take place on July 23 2021, with the closing ceremony on August 8.
The Olympic games in Tokyo will now start on July 23 next year and will finish off on August 8
The original start to the games was due to happen on July 24 this year, with the grand finale set for August 9.
But despite weeks of denial that the competition would succumb to the virus, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe finally confirmed that the game would not go ahead last week.
A joint statement from the IOC and the Tokyo organisers said the decision was aimed at ‘safeguarding the health of the athletes’.
It read: ‘In the present circumstances, and based on the information provided by the World Health Organisation today, the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games 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 Games and the international community.’
Tokyo organisers have already spent an estimated £10billion on the Games and experts predict the postponement could cost them another £2bn.