Buzz
As the world's largest sporting spectacle, the Summer Olympics unites over 10,000 athletes from numerous nations every four years. However, the latest edition of the Games gained notoriety for an unprecedented reason.
The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics faced an official postponement due to the coronavirus outbreak. Following announcements from Canada, Australia, and other nations about withdrawing their athletes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to reschedule the event for 2021. Despite the delay, the Games retained their 2020 title and were held in July and August 2021.
Postponements or cancellations of the Summer or Winter Olympics are exceedingly rare. Since the launch of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, such disruptions have occurred only six times, predominantly due to wartime conditions.
Event | Location | Canceled or Postponed | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
1916 Summer Olympics | Berlin, Germany | Canceled | World War I |
1940 Winter Olympics | Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany | Canceled | World War II |
1940 Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan, then Helsinki, Finland | Postponed, then canceled | World War II |
1944 Winter Olympics | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Canceled | World War II |
1944 Summer Olympics | London, UK | Canceled | World War II |
2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan | Postponed to 2021 | Coronavirus pandemic |
The Olympic Games faced cancellations in Europe and Japan as a result of World War I and World War II. Originally planned for Tokyo, the 1940 Summer Games were delayed by conflict and relocated to Helsinki, Finland, only to be entirely canceled. Notably, the coronavirus pandemic became the first non-war-related cause to temporarily postpone the competition.
