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Tokyo 2020 Olympics rescheduled to start in July 2021


The postponed Olympics will begin in July 2021 (EPA)

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will begin on July 23 next year, while the closing ceremony will take place on August 8.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Games were due to start this summer on July 24 and finish August 9.

Next year’s Paralympic Games will run from August 24 to September 5.

Last week, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach agreed to postpone this summer’s Games.

The Olympics will still be known as Tokyo 2020 despite the year-long delay (EPA)

But despite the year-long delay, the Games will still be called Tokyo 2020.

The cost of rescheduling the Olympics has been estimated to be as high as $4 billion (£3.2bn).

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‘Since it [the Olympics] were scheduled for this summer, all the venues had given up hosting any other events during this time, so how do we approach that?’ said Tokyo’s organising committee CEO Toshiro Muto.

‘In addition, there will need to be guarantees when we book the new dates, and there is a possibility this will incur rent payments.

‘So there will be costs incurred and we will need to consider them one by one. I think that will be the tougher process.’

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