RAIN CHECK

Olympics Postponed for the First Time in History

The IOC and the Japanese government have agreed to a one-year postponement for Tokyo’s Summer Games.

The Tokyo Olympic Games will be pushed back to 2021 to give the world time to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, proposed a one-year postponement for the Games in talks with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. “In light of the current conditions and for all the athletes, we made a proposal of a postponement of about a year, to hold them securely and safely,” Abe said. He added that the IOC had agreed “100 percent” with the plan, saying: “We have agreed that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held by the summer of 2021 at the latest.” Until a few days ago, Japan had insisted there were no plans to delay the Games—but the decision to postpone became inevitable when teams from around the world announced they would not be traveling to Tokyo in July. No Olympics has ever been rescheduled before, and the only cancellations have happened in wartime.