Doha, 26 March 2020 - Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) expressed its support for the decision taken by the International Olympic Committee in co-ordination with the organising committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to postpone the edition to next year.
The International Olympic Committee announced that it was studying all the options related to Tokyo Olympics 2020, after its “video conference” system meeting with the National Olympic Committees in the world and international federations.
The President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to postpone this edition to the year 2021 due to coronavirus.
On this occasion, QOC President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani said that the decision taken by the International Olympic Committee in coordination with the Organising Committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to postpone the games to next year 2021 reflects the commitment of IOC to protect the health of athletes and all members of the Olympic family, and therefore, Qatar Olympic Committee supports this decision and affirms that, in the current situation given the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), the decision to postpone was a responsible decision.
His Excellency added that through this decision, the International Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee for the Tokyo Olympics reassured the athletes in the State of Qatar and all over the world in these difficult times and removed the pressures regarding training and qualifying competitions.
His Excellency said that as the International Olympic Committee said, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be a source of hope for all of us, and there is no doubt that it will be a special edition as the world will celebrate the end of the coronavirus spread.
