The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Tokyo Organising Committee and Japan Government today confirmed that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed due to the COVID-19 situation.

IOC President Thomas Bach and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe confirmed the decision after conference call among leaders on Tuesday.

A joint IOC-Tokyo Organising Committee statement said the Games would be moved to next year.

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the World Health Organization, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo 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 Olympic Games and the international community.

Prime Minister Abe told media outside his residence: “I proposed postponing the Games for around a year. President Bach said he agreed 100 per cent.

“Given the situation of the pandemic we agreed it would be difficult to hold the Games inside (this) year which is why we decided to postpone for around a year,” he said.

The joint statement confirmed the Olympic flame would stay in Japan as a “beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times” and that the event name would remain as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Read Full IOC-Tokyo Organising Committee Statement