Olympics postponed: IOC head and Japan PM agree to delay Games to 2021

It’s off for now: A man wearing a face mask walks in front of the Olympic Rings in Tokyo. Japan has asked for a one-year postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games over the global coronavirus pandemic, and the International Olympic Committee have agreed, the country’s prime minister said yesterday. — AFP

TOKYO/ATHENS: Japan and the Olympics movement decided to delay this year’s Tokyo Games into 2021 as the coronavirus crisis obliterated the world’s last major imminent sporting event.

It was the first time in the Olympics’ 124-year history that they had been postponed, though they were cancelled outright several times during the two 20th century World Wars.