Why aren’t this year’s Olympic Games called Tokyo 2021?

The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled to start on 24 July 2020, before the developing coronavirus pandemic forced organisers into a late change of plan.

As concerns grew at the rising number of cases around the world, discussions were held about the best course of action to take for the safety of athletes, spectators and the wider public.

The announcement that the Olympics would be postponed for a year, but would retain the same name, finally arrived on 24 March 2020.

At the time, there were more than 375,000 cases of coronavirus recorded globally and that number was rising quickly.

It wasn’t safe for the Olympics to go ahead in such uncertain, and rapidly changing, circumstances, with Canada becoming the first country to refuse to send its athletes unless the event was postponed.

Two days later, a statement was issued by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, which read:

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, 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.

“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present.

“Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”