TOKYO — Tokyo 2020 organisers will host celebrations marking the one-year countdown to the Olympics on Thursday but with the postponed Games still shrouded in uncertainty they are sure to be more muted than the first attempt 12 months ago. On July 24 last year, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach presided over a glitzy ceremony in the Japanese capital and declared Tokyo the best prepared host city he had ever seen. Even six months ago, when fireworks exploded over a giant, luminous set of Olympic rings in Tokyo Bay, organisers were still bullish that their huge financial investment would deliver an unforgettable Games. Just two months later, however, plans that had been almost a decade in the making were shredded as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the IOC and Japanese government to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympics for a year.

Source: International New York Times July 21, 2020 01:52 UTC