Tokyo could announce new Olympics date this week, organizers say

A decision on a new date for Japan’s Olympics could come as early as this week, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee Yoshiro Mori said on Monday. The Games had been postponed because of a coronavirus pandemic.

Last week’s decision was a huge blow to Japan, which invested $13 billion in the run-up to the Games. However, financial markets were initially cheered by the decision, with some investors having anticipated cancellation, Reuters said.

“We need to swiftly decide on the new date,” Mori said at the start of a committee meeting, its first since the move to delay the Games. Mori added that he expected a call this week from Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), to decide new dates, following two suggestions made by the organizing panel last week.

On Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said citing its sources that the opening ceremony of the delayed Games was most likely to be on July 23 next year, and the closing ceremony on August 8, each a calendar day earlier than the 2020 schedule.