當地時間3月24日，國際奧委會宣佈，鑑於新冠肺炎感染患者數量急劇增加，國際奧委會需要在不同的狀況下采取措施，在與東京奧組委、日本政府和東京都政府討論後，完成疫情對奧運會衝擊的評估，
決定推遲東京奧運會至2021年夏天舉行，延期後的奧運會名稱仍保留“東京2020奧運會”。
這是現代奧運會長達124年曆史上的首次推遲。
先來看看國際奧委會與東京奧運會組委會的聯合聲明吧——
Joint Statement from the International Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee
國際奧委會與2020年東京奧運會組委會聯合聲明
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, helda conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
國際奧委會主席托馬斯·巴赫與日本首相安倍晉三於3月24日上午舉行電話會議，討論持續變化的新冠病毒疫情和2020年東京奧運會籌辦事宜。
They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister,Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.
2020東京奧運會組委會主席森喜朗、日本奧運大臣橋本聖子、東京都知事小池百合子、國際奧委會協調委員會主席約翰·科茨、國際奧委會總幹事克里斯托夫·德·凱珀和國際奧委會執行主任克里斯托夫·杜比也參與了此次會議。
President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.
巴赫主席和安倍首相對全球範圍內爆發的新冠肺炎疫情，及其對人們的生活和各國運動員備戰奧運會所帶來的重大影響表示共同關切。
In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.
在此次友好及富有建設性意義的會議中，兩位領導人讚揚了東京奧組委的工作，並指出日本在抗擊新冠肺炎疫情方面取得了巨大進展。
The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating.Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is"accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.
由於疫情的不可預測且史無前例的蔓延，使得全球各個地區的局勢正不斷惡化。3月23日，世界衛生組織總幹事譚德塞表示，新冠肺炎疫情趨勢正在“加速” 。目前全世界有超過37.5萬確診病例，幾乎每個國家都有病例記錄，且其數量正每時每刻在迅速增長。
In the present circumstances and based onthe information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the PrimeMinister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, tosafeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.
基於當前形勢及世界衛生組織今日提供的信息，國際奧委會主席和日本首相認為，為保障運動員、奧運會和國際社會參與者的健康，東京第32屆奧運會需延期至2020年後，最遲不晚於2021年夏天。
The leaders agreed that the Olympic Gamesin Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan.It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
雙方一致認為，在此艱難時期，東京奧運會可以成為全球的希望燈塔，奧運聖火將成為黑暗中照亮世界的一道曙光。因此，雙方一致同意將聖火留在日本，並保留2020年東京奧運會和殘奧會的名稱。
對於東京奧運會延期，大部分網友表示支持與理解。不過在見證歷史的同時，大家也紛紛造起了梗，來迎接這一屆特別的奧運會：
希望疫情早日結束，世界能相逢在2021年東京的天空下。
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