Tokyo Olympic Games confirmed opening time： July 23rd, 2021.

On March 30th, Mori Yoshiro, Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, was at the press conference. On the same day, BOCOG held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, announcing that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was forced to be postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, will be held from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021. Xinhua News Agency/Kyodo News

　　Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, March 30th (Reporter Wang Zijiang, Ji Ye) The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee jointly announced on the 30th that the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games will be held from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021, and the Tokyo Paralympic Games will be held from August 24th to September 5th, 2021.

　　Mori Yoshiro, Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, held a press conference to announce the competition time. He said: "The schedule of the event is still the cornerstone of future preparations. I firmly believe that quickly determining the date of the event will help speed up future preparations."

　　Since the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games was announced on the 24th, the new competition time has become the focus of world attention. International Olympic Committee President Bach has revealed that the competition time will be determined within four weeks, and said that the possibility of holding the Olympic Games in spring is not ruled out.

　　BOCOG held an executive committee on the same day, and basically determined the competition time. Subsequently, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee headed by Mori Yoshiro held a telephone conference with the International Olympic Committee represented by Bach to determine the above date, which was one day and a whole year behind the scheduled hosting this year. The Tokyo Olympic Games to be held at that time will still use the name of "Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games".

　　Mori Yoshiro, 82, said: "I asked President Bach when the Olympic Games will be held from July to August. I am very grateful to President Bach. After consulting with individual federations and related organizations, he accepted my suggestion."

　　The former Japanese Prime Minister also said that the Olympic Organizing Committee also considered the proposal of holding the Olympic Games in spring, but "it takes some time for athletes to advance to the Olympic Games and prepare for the training, so our consensus is that it is better to hold the Olympic Games during the summer holidays in Japan".

　　The International Olympic Committee subsequently issued a statement confirming the competition time. Bach said in the statement: "I believe that with the cooperation of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and various stakeholders, we can overcome this unprecedented challenge."

　　Faced with the global spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, Bach said: "Mankind is now in a dark tunnel, and I hope this Olympic Games will become the light in the depths of the tunnel."

　　On the same day, the Executive Committee of BOCOG also reached a preliminary consensus on tickets, test matches, volunteers, commercial contracts and torch relay.

　　The meeting decided that all the tickets purchased are still valid, and if the ticket purchaser cannot be present, the organizing Committee will refund the ticket in full. Regarding the test events, all 18 test events scheduled to be held after April were postponed. As for the commercial contracts involved, the organizing committee revealed that all parties to the contract have been asked to temporarily stop execution, and the organizing committee will start negotiations on the contract issues after the new competition plan is determined. The meeting also decided to reserve qualifications for volunteers and that this year’s torchbearers will have priority in the selection process next year.