Tokyo Olympics rescheduled to begin July 2021

The start date for the Tokyo Olympics has officially been set after officials agreed to postpone the Games until 2021.

Organizers say the opening ceremony will now take place on July 23, 2021, and close on Aug. 9, 2021.

The new time slot is almost exactly one year after the games were due to begin this year.

The Paralympics will follow the Games and run Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.

The International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision marked the first time in the history of the Olympics that the games were postponed. They were cancelled once before during wartime.

The new dates conflict with the scheduled world championships in track and swimming, but those events are now expected to also be pushed back.

Despite occurring in 2021, the Games will still be referred to as the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.