Daily Mail 30 March 2020 -by Oli Gamp for Mailonline
© Issei Kato/Pool via Reuters
Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo Organising Committee, at the press conference where the new dates for the Games were confirmed
The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have confirmed their key dates for the tournament after it was pushed back to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan were forced to delay the highly-anticipated tournament with the killer virus sweeping its way around the world and bringing the world of sport to its knees.
Now the opening ceremony of the games will now take place on July 23 2021, with the closing ceremony on August 8.
The original start to the games was due to happen on July 24 this year, with the grand finale set for August 9.
But despite weeks of denial that the competition would succumb to the virus, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe finally confirmed that the game would not go ahead last week.
A joint statement from the IOC and the Tokyo organisers said the decision was aimed at 'safeguarding the health of the athletes'.
It read: 'In the present circumstances, and based on the information provided by the World Health Organisation today, the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games 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 Games and the international community.'
Tokyo organisers have already spent an estimated £10billion on the Games and experts predict the postponement could cost them another £2bn.
