As A Result Of COVID-19, IOC Agrees To Postpone The 2020 Olympics

JAKARTA - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the corona virus. IOC member Dick Pound disclosed this to USA Today, Tuesday, March 24.

Important sporting powers such as Australia and Canada have said they will not participate in this year's Tokyo Olympics after organizing committees have come under great pressure to postpone the event. This delay is the first to occur in the 124-year history of the Olympics.

The previous Olympics have never been postponed, although they were canceled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 because of two world wars, and two boycotts during the Cold War disrupted the Moscow Olympics and the Los Angeles Games in 1980 and 1984.

"Based on information the IOC has decided on a postponement," said Pound. "The parameters proposed are still undetermined, but the Olympics won't start on July 24, that's what I know."

USA Today reports that the Olympics, which were scheduled to be held July 24 to August 9, may be pushed back to 2021, the details of which are being finalized in the next four weeks.

The delay will be a major blow to the host country, Japan, which has poured out an investment fund of 12 billion US dollars (Rp199 trillion). This excludes risking funds from sponsors and broadcasting rights owners.

But a big complaint from athletes who have struggled to train because gyms, stadiums and swimming pools are closed around the world, changed everything.

More than 337 thousand people have been infected with the corona virus worldwide and around 14,600 people have died as a result of the pandemic that the World Health Organization says is spreading rapidly.

The IOC and the Japanese government finally relented after weeks of insisting the Olympics should go ahead by announcing month-long consultations on scenarios including postponements.

Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergency program, said WHO was providing input on decisions regarding the Olympics, adding, "I am sure a decision will be made soon."