COVID-19 Update: Tokyo Olympics Postponed Until 2021

As all major news outlets are reporting the 2020 Summer Olympics, scheduled for Tokyo, have been postponed until 2021. The decision reflects an agreement between Shinzo Abe, the country's prime minister and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.

The decision was not unexpected, as both Australia and Canada had withdrawn from the event, and the US, Germany, and Poland -- along with organizations such as USA Track and Field and USA Swimming -- had called for a postponement in recent days. And, as CNN reports, "athletes who have been unable to train due to closed facilities and restricted access to coaches and training partners have also voiced opposition to the Games proceeding as planned."

The New York Times notes that the postponement "will likely wreak havoc with sports schedules but should bring great relief to the athletes, organizers, and health officials who pressed for a delay and complained that the I.O.C. was not moving quickly enough to adjust to the coronavirus pandemic." The postponement, of course, includes the Paralympics.

Variety reports, "The postponement -- like the coronavirus outbreak -- will have a dramatic impact on the TV industry. Comcast, which has the rights to show the Games in the U.S., had been counting on hundreds of hours of coverage of swimming, archery, and trampoline gymnastics to lure millions of viewers to its screens in an era when many of them might opt for a streamed movie or TV series. NBCUniversal has already sold more than 90% of its ad inventory for the Tokyo Games, valued at more than $1.25 billion." The newspaper adds that the lack of a summer Olympics may be good news for a film industry that will spend the summer trying to recover from the current shutdown. The absence of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies will add to the difficulties of the live entertainment industry, as these are loaded with lighting, sound, and video gear, resulting in spectacles that are viewed globally.