It has been announced that the Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s games.
This Olympic were scheduled to open on July 24 and close on Aug. 9. But the near exact one-year delay will see the rescheduled closing ceremony on Aug. 8.
There had been talk of switching the Olympics to spring, a move that would coincide with the blooming of Japan’s famous cherry blossoms. But it would also clash with European soccer and North American sports leagues.
“The schedule for the games is key to preparing for the games,” Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said. “This will only accelerate our progress.” Tokyo organizers said Monday the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 — almost exactly one year after the games were due to start.
Last week, the IOC and Japanese organizers postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
—
Photo Credit: Creative Photo Corner / Shutterstock.com