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International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach hopes shifting the Tokyo Games to next summer can see it become a triumphant \u201ccelebration of humanity\u201d after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.<\/p>\nInternational Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach hopes shifting the Tokyo Games to next summer can see it become a triumphant \u201ccelebration of humanity\u201d after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.<\/p>\n
The inevitable was confirmed on Tuesday when IOC, Tokyo 2020 organizers and the Japanese government announced the Olympics and Paralympics will now be held in 2021, in the summertime of that year at the latest.<\/p>\n
Pressure from national Olympic committees and international sports federations to postpone had mounted on a daily basis as the initial Covid-19 outbreak in China spread.<\/p>\n
Opting for a postponement rather than cancellation all together means the cost implications for the IOC and the local organizers will be significant, but manageable.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday evening, IOC president Bach posted a video on the organisation\u2019s media channels, offering hope for a brighter tomorrow and the continuation of the Olympic ideal, albeit delayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will all be able to celebrate the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, even if it is only in 2021. You can be sure you can make your Olympic dream coming true,\u201d Bach said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of uncertainty remaining for the entire humanity. We all are together in a very dark tunnel, we do not know how long this tunnel is and we do not know what is happening tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we want this Olympic flame to be a light at the end of the tunnel. This is why we will work hard now to undertake this extremely challenging task of postponing the Games and of organizing a postponed Games, which never happened before.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no blueprint for this and it will need the effort of everyone and the contribution of all to make this happen because the Olympics is the most complex event on this planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to provide you with the best conditions and the most safe environment for the Games.<\/p>\n
“Give us a bit of time to study all of these questions and to put this huge jigsaw puzzle together.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine what this could mean for all of us \u2013 these Olympic Games could then finally be the celebration of humanity after having overcome the unprecedented crisis of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be a true celebration of all of us, a true demonstration of the Olympic spirit, what unites us all and where we have our full commitment behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision was welcomed by international federations and national Olympic committees across the world, many of whom, the British Olympic Association included, had been prepared to stand down their athletes from training anyway for their own safety had the IOC not acted.<\/p>\n
BOA chief executive Andy Anson said Team GB\u2019s preparation\u2019s had been \u201ccompromised irreparably\u201d by social distancing measures in the UK, which were further tightened on Monday night, and he said the IOC\u2019s decision was the right one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Olympic Games is a symbol of hope for us all and we are sure that we will be in Tokyo at the right and appropriate time as the world re-emerges from this dark period,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Funding for sports governing bodies from the Exchequer and the National Lottery is tied into Olympic cycles, and in the normal run of things a new UK Sport funding cycle would begin from the start of April 2021.<\/p>\n
The decision to postpone means a workaround will be needed, which UK Sport will discuss in the coming weeks and months with the summer Olympic and Paralympic sports bodies.<\/p>\n