The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo have been postponed until next year.
Despite the global coronavirus outbreak, International Olympic Committee chiefs had hoped the Games could go ahead as planned on July 24, with the Olympic flame travelling from Greece to Japan last Friday.
While most major sporting events around the globe have long since been suspended or postponed, Olympics bosses felt it was too far out to make a decision particularly with Japan having largely got the virus under control domestically.
But both the IOC and the Japanese government came under fire for that stance, with Canada and Australia announcing they would not compete unless it was postponed, and at last the decision has reluctantly been made to rescheduled the Games.
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However, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, claims he has now reached an agreement with IOC president Thomas Bach to postpone the Olympics for one year.
‘We asked president Bach to consider postponement of about one year to make it possible for athletes to play in the best condition, and to make the event a safe and secure one for spectators,’ said Abe.
‘President Bach said he is in agreement 100 percent.’
Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, has said that the Games will still be called ‘Tokyo 2020’ even though they will be held next year.
The British Olympic Association were expected to announce on Tuesday that they would not be sending a team to Japan this summer
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