Both Olympics and Paralympics have been postponed until 2021 due to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has completely disrupted the world of sport among other events throughout the world.
It was expected to happen as the 2020 Euros was postponed last week as well.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, announced that Britons should remain inside unless for one of four reasons.
Those reasons are:
- Travel to and from work for key workers only
- Shopping for basic necessities/ must needs such as food and medicine
- For at most, one form of exercise (Walking, Running, Cycling) alone or with members of your family
- For a medical appointment
It is safe to say that the virus has caught the whole world off guard which is something that one of the most successful businessman in the world, Bill Gates predicted.
“We are not ready for the next Epidemic” said Bill Gates at TED talk back in 2015.
The Football season has come to a halt and the Rugby Union Six Nations still has not finished.
Other events that have been delayed/ cancelled are;
- The first eight Grand Prix races of the Formula 1 season have been delayed
- County Cricket in England and Wales will not be played before 28th of May
- All forms of professional tennis have been postponed until the 7th of June
- Golf’s Masters and PGA Championship have both been postponed
- and The London Marathon has been moved from 26th of April to the 4th of October
Obviously, some of those dates above are not definite and it all depends on how quick the world deals with the issue of the virus.
The event will still be called Tokyo 2020, despite the Olympics occurring in the summer of 2021, as will the Euros.
It is not a coincidence that the Olympics has been postponed until next year due to Canada withdrawing themselves from this year’s Olympics.
Andrew Parsons, International Paralympic Committee president, said the postponement was “the only logical option”.
The decision came from Shinzo Abe (Japan’s Prime Minister) and Thomas Bach (International Olympic Committee President) for the postponement.
For the sporting world it is a problem, but for the rest of the world, it is a disaster.
Still many people in the United Kingdom do not understand the severity of COVID-19.
Yesterday, health authorities reported that it were the 5th day in a row that there has been no new cases in Wuhan, where the epidemic began.
That is due to whole city being on a complete lock down.
Hopefully, the whole of the Untied Kingdom can understand how tragic this virus is and listen to the words of those health specialists that tell us to stay inside.
