THE Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, exactly a year from the original dates.

Games organisers, confirming the matter, said the Paralympics will be held from August 24 to September 5 next year.

The new dates were agreed on by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Paralympic Committee, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Japanese government in a teleconference yesterday.

IOC, in a statement, said the decision was taken based on three main considerations, namely to protect the health of athletes and everyone involved, and to support the containment of Covid-19; to safeguard the interests of athletes and Olympic sports; and, to safeguard the global international sports calendar.

“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. The Tokyo Olympics can be a light at the end of this tunnel,” said IOC president Thomas Bach in the statement.

Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last Tuesday agreed to postpone the global event due to the coronavirus pandemic.

IOC earlier confirmed that athletes who have already qualified and the quota places assigned for the Tokyo Games remain unchanged. – Bernama, March 31, 2020.