The Olympics are coming back to Tokyo (Japan). Fifty-six years have passed since the metropolis last hosted the Games of the XVIII Olympiad with a successful medal count for the Slovak Olympians, at that time as representatives of Czechoslovakia.
Although the first Tokyo Olympics were planned to take place as early as 1940, after Japan attacked China, the situation changed and Finland was selected as the host country. However, the plans for the Games of the XVIII Olympiad were finally thwarted by the war and they did not take place at all. Tokyo also failed in their bids to stage the Olympic Games in both 1960 and 2016.
At its 125th session in Buenos Aires on 7th September 2013, the International Olympic Committee decided that Tokyo would stage the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in 2020. Tokyo, who entered their candidature with the slogan "Discover Tomorrow", beat the other two candidates in the first round, receiving a majority of votes (42). Istanbul and Madrid received the same number of votes (26 each), so an extra election round was needed to decide on the second finalist. The Turkish capital won with 49 to 45 votes. The second round was also dominated by Tokyo, with 60 to 36.
The Olympic programme includes 28 sports, 165 competitions for men, 156 for women and 18 mixed or open competitions. The organisers of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo suggested the inclusion of five new sports to provide a richer programme. This will allow spectators to watch additional competitions, baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, climbing and surfing, all approved by the International Olympic Committee, while bowling, squash and wu-shu (a martial art) were excluded. The organisers expect 48.2% of the participants to be female athletes, which would be the highest level of female participation in history.
Although the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo were originally scheduled to take place between 24th July and 9th August 2020, on 24th March 2020 the International Olympic Committee took the decision to postpone the Games until 2021 due to the new coronavirus pandemic COVID-19. It is the first time in their modern history that the Olympics have been postponed. Previously they have been cancelled, due to the 1st and 2nd World Wars in 1916, 1940 and 1944. The Japanese organisers and the International Olympic Committee have agreed that both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will keep their original title – Tokyo 2020. They are going to take place from 29th July to 8th August 2021 as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo.
Zdenka Letenayová
