Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
World
Fionnula Hainey

Has the Olympics ever been cancelled before?

With coronavirus spreading across the globe, a number of sporting events have already been cancelled in a bid to contain the virus.

Thoughts are now turning to this year's Summer Olympics, which are set to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from July.

The International Olympic Committee says it remains fully committed to staging the Tokyo 2020 Games as scheduled, despite concerns over athletes and spectators travelling to the city amid the outbreak.

President of the committee Thomas Bach recently said after a board meeting that "neither the word ‘cancellation’, nor the word ‘postponement’ was even mentioned".

Passengers wearing face masks walk down stairs at a Tokyo train station (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

But has the Summer Olympics ever been cancelled before?

It's actually very rare for the event to be abandoned completely, with only three being cancelled since the first games in 1896.

And, on each of those occasions, it was due to war.

The 1916 Summer Olympics, which were scheduled to take place in Berlin, eventually had to be cancelled after organisers initially believed World War I would be over the the time the event came around.

The German city had to wait another 20 years before it was given the chance to host the event again.

The outbreak of World War II caused the cancellation of two summer games - the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and the 1944 Summer Olympics in London.

Because of the cancellation, London went on to host the 1948 games, the first event after a 12 year hiatus due to war.

World War II also led to the cancellation of the Winter Olympics in 1940 and 1944.

For the latest on the outbreak, follow our coronavirus live updates here.

In 2016, there were concerns that the outbreak of the mosquito-borne zika virus could lead to a cancellation of the Rio Olympics in Brazil - but it went ahead as planned, despite some athletes deciding to boycott the event.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. We are also on Instagram .

If you are on the go, the M.E.N. app helps bring you closer to the latest news where you live. Available on iPhone and Android , the app can be tailor-made to bring you the latest on what matters to you.

Breaking news, the latest on your football club, the pick of the week’s events and the latest travel - you can tailor the app to suit you.

Our push notifications help highlight the biggest stories to you first. Download it on iPhone and Android here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.