After their decision of 24 March to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan announced today that the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021. The new dates are scheduled exactly one year after the original dates.

The choice was made in a telephone conference attended by IOC President Thomas Bach, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and Olympic and Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko.

According to a statement released by the IOC, this decision was taken “based on three main considerations and in line with the principles established by the IOC Executive Board on 17 March 2020 and confirmed at its meeting today.” These were supported by all the International Summer Olympic Sports Federations, including the International Handball Federation (IHF), and all the National Olympic Committees.

These three main principles are:

1. To protect the health of the athletes and everyone involved, and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus.

2. To safeguard the interests of the athletes and of Olympic sport.

3. The global international sports calendar.

“I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact. With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel,” said Bach.

The International Handball Federation fully supports this decision and is confidently looking ahead to working with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and all stakeholders to start planning and preparing for another memorable Olympic Games.

To read the full rescheduling statement from the IOC, click here.