The 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo have been postponed due to coronavirus by request of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
More than 600,000 overseas visitors were expected to travel to Japan for the latest edition of the world's biggest sporting event, initially scheduled to run from July 24 until August 9.
However, those plans are no longer considered viable due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic that has led to more than 15,000 deaths worldwide in addition to seeing strict restrictions placed on every day life and travel in several countries and sporting competitions grind to a halt.
The agreement to postpone was communicated on Tuesday following a conference call involving Mr Abe, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and other key figures including Japan's Olympic minister Hashimoto Seiko, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee chief Mori Yoshiro and Tokyo governor Koike Yuriko.
It is the first time the modern Olympics have been postponed, though they were previously cancelled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to the First and Second World Wars respectively.
Mr Abe told reporters on Tuesday that Bach had fully agreed with the proposal to postpone the Games, which will now be held "beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021" in order to "safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community".
"We asked President Bach to consider postponement of about one year to make it possible for athletes to play in the best condition, and to make the event a safe and secure one for spectators," Mr Abe said.
"President Bach said he is in agreement 100 percent."
It was also confirmed that the event in 2021 will still be held in Tokyo and retain the same "Tokyo 2020" moniker, despite not taking place in that calendar year.
Statement in full
International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.
President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.
In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.
The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.
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.
The IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee further announced that the Olympic flame - due to begin a scaled-down relay around Japan on Thursday - will remain in the country and become the "light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present".
The British Olympic Association (BOA), Paralympic Association (BPA) and UK Sport said in a joint statement that they "welcomed the decision" to postpone the Games.
BOA chief executive Andy Anson said: "It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on our nation, our communities and our families."
A potential postponement scenario was first considered by the IOC amid growing pressure on Sunday, when they said a decision could be expected within the next four weeks.
However, the situation quickly escalated further when the National Olympic and Paralympic Committees from Canada jointly announced they would not be sending athletes to a Games held this summer.
Australia subsequently confirmed they had instructed athletes to prepare for an Olympics in 2021, while the BOA also joined calls for the Games to be pushed back, with chairman Hugh Robertson stating that he did not believe there was "any way" GB could send a team this summer if the coronavirus crisis continues as anticipated.
World Athletics president Seb Coe also wrote to IOC counterpart Bach urging the postponement of the Games.
Mr Abe - who had previously expressed optimism that the Games could go ahead - suggested for the first time in a session of Japanese parliament on Monday that the Olympics may need to be postponed, stating that the world is currently "not in such a condition" for the event to take place at this point in time.
Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast:
Later on the same day, IOC member Dick Pound said the decision to postpone had already been made.
