Summer Olympics rescheduled for next year

by Paul Florence

The Summer Olympics were supposed to begin this week, but have instead been rescheduled for this time next summer. 

“This is something we’ve never dealt with in the history of the Olympic movement, “ said Paul Florence, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “The Olympics have been canceled three times in the past – twice during World War II and once during World War I. But it's never been postponed before”

The decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the government of Japan with help from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) was made based on health concerns. Even though it is a good thing that they have postponed this world event until next year to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it has also brought up a number of time-consuming logistical and contractual issues.

One of the most prominent of these issues is the Olympic Village in Tokyo. 

“The athletes at the Olympics all live in the athlete village. And in Tokyo, they built this massive complex of high rise buildings that the athletes were going to be in this summer.” The units have already been sold and were going to be turned into condos and apartments, starting in September. “So we're still trying to figure out where the athletes are going to stay in 2021. This is one of probably a couple thousand very complicated questions that we still need to figure out.

“It’s like a big giant jigsaw puzzle and there were like ten thousand pieces and you had nine thousand nine hundred of them in place and someone came along and knocked them all on the floor and so you’ve got to pick them all up and put them back in there again.”

Even though it is sad to hear that the Olympics have been postponed until next year, it was the best decision to make for our country and the world as a whole’s safety. 

“By the time the Games begin next summer in Tokyo in 2021,” he said, “the entire world will be incredibly eager to get together and to celebrate this global gathering as a truly special and unforgettable experience.”