When will the Tokyo Olympics be held?

There are no exact dates, but sometime next year is the plan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says the Olympics are postponed to a date "after 2020 but by summer 2021".

What is a likely date?

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prefers to postpone the Olympics for about a year, and sometime around July-August should be good. There has also been information that spring 2021 is an alternative. But it can be too cold to have the Olympics in March or April, and it can be difficult to get many stars. For example, the NBA basketball season runs into June and several football seasons end in May. In June and July it can also collide with several competitions, which advanced the men's European football as well as several major competitions in golf.

Has anything like that happened before?

In fact, a summer Olympics has never been postponed before. However, three games have been canceled (1916, 1940 and 1944) due to World War I and World War II respectively. Since 1948, the Summer Olympics have always been held every four years.

How much does the move cost?

According to experts, to which the news agency AFP refers, the move may cost the organizer the equivalent of around SEK 60 billion. This is about half the total cost so far for the Olympics, which is around SEK 120 billion.

Who will pay?

There seems to be a later problem. When the Olympic move was announced on Tuesday, the IOC said that the matter has not yet been discussed.

"This is about saving lives," said IOK President Thomas Bach.

What are the biggest challenges?

What is most likely to cause headaches is purely logistical.

Among other things, you have to book millions of hotel rooms and, not least, solve the sports' accommodation. After the games, the Olympic village would have been converted into apartments, which have already been sold.

The agreements with arenas and other places that are intended to be used during the Olympics must also be renegotiated.

"A number of important arenas that we need to use for the Olympics may no longer be available," IOC chairman Thomas Bach said on Sunday.

What happens to major championships that risk colliding with the Olympics?

If we start with football then the men's soccer championship has also been moved to 2021 and will be held June 11 - July 11. It's a big TV event that the Olympics can't move on. On the other hand, the women's European Championship 2021, scheduled for July 7 - August 1, will have to move, probably for a whole year ahead.

Two other championships in major summer sports that need to be moved are the Sim World Championships and the Athletics World Championships. Swimming is scheduled to take place in Fukuoka, Japan, July 16 - August 1, and athletics in Eugene, USA August 6 - 15. International swimming association Fina says that one should try to have "flexibility" around the World Cup date if needed, and in agreement with the IOC. The organizers of the Athletics World Cup have announced via the International Athletics Association that they are preparing to move on to the championship if needed.

How about the Olympic qualms?

This is something to bite into. 57 percent of the seats for the Olympics are already filled, and many feel that it would be unfair if those who have qualified should not get a seat even if the games are moved. At the same time, the National Olympic Committees want to send their best athletes, and it is not certain that they are the same people in a year as today.

It will also be a challenge to get in all the qualifying events needed, both in view of the uncertainty about when the sport can be started again and in view of the ever thicker sports calendar which all deferred events entail.

What happens to the Olympic fire?

The fire was ignited in the Greek Olympia on March 12 and landed in Japan last Friday. On Thursday, the 121-day torch relay around the country would have started in Fukushima, northeast Japan, but it has to wait. However, the fire will remain in Japan until the Olympics, although it is not entirely clear where it will burn.

Are purchased tickets valid next year?

It has not yet emerged. It is also not clear if the person who bought the ticket, but can not go to the Olympics when it gets lost, gets the money back.

Why aren't the games renamed for the Olympics 2021?

Because quantities of materials have already been manufactured with the intended logo, including 5,000 medals. It would simply be too expensive and wasteful to redo everything. However, a creative soul on Twitter suggested that a simple addition to the name, Tokyo 2020, would solve it all: Tokyo 2020NE.

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