The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that were postponed last week due to concerns around coronavirus pandemic have been rescheduled for next summer.
The games will open on Jul. 23 and close on Aug. 8, 2021. The Paralympics will be held Aug. 24 through Sept. 5, 2021.
The Olympics were originally scheduled to take place between Jul. 24 and Aug. 9 this year, but Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the International Olympic Committee agreed last Tuesday to postpone the games, as countries around the world struggle to contain the epidemic that has claimed more than 34,000 lives and forced millions around the world into lockdowns.
They originally agreed that the games will be held, at the very latest, by the summer of 2021.
The Olympics is the biggest event yet to be affected by the growing global pandemic.
The decision to postpone the games was welcomed by many athletes and national committees after growing calls for the games to be delayed or canceled because of the outbreak.
NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News, paid $4.4 billion for U.S. media rights to the four Olympics from 2014 to 2020.
