Same time next year.

Officials with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and organizers with the Tokyo Olympics say the Games will happen next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year's games.

The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympic Games will now take place on July 23, 2021, nearly one year after the games were supposed to be played.

“The schedule for the games is key to preparing for the games," Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said. “This will only accelerate our progress.”

The Games were originally scheduled to open on July 24 this year, and run through Aug. 9. However, the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 forced organizers to rethink that schedule as countries around the world threatened to pull their athletes out of the competition.

The Paralympics have also been rescheduled to run Aug. 25-Sept. 5.

The postponement marks the first time the Olympic Games have been pushed back, however, the Games were cancelled during World War I and II.

"Since it (the Olympics) were scheduled for this summer, all the venues had given up hosting any other events during this time, so how do we approach that?" CEO Toshiro Muto added. "In addition, there will need to be guarantees when we book the new dates, and there is a possibility this will incur rent payments. So there will be costs incurred and we will need to consider them one by one. I think that will be the tougher process."

Japan has invested some $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, however, according to figures issued by the an audit of the Japanese government, twice that amount has been spent on putting on the Games. The vast majority of the money is public money, with the exception of $5.6 billion that comes from a privately funded budget. Another $1.3 billion is being contributed by the IOC.

To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Dave 'Softy' Mahler

Seattle's Sports Radio 950 KJR · Stuck at Home… Stick with Us