The International Olympic Committee has yesterday announced the new dates for the postponed Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The new dates, 23 July – 8 August 2021 clash partly with those of The World Games 2021, which were scheduled to be held 15–25 July 2021. The IWGA will now urgently review alternative options, and coordinate all actions with the various stakeholders to ensure the success of the Games. In anticipation of this decision, the IWGA had already been in close contact with the IOC, and they have pledged to help The World Games overcome the major challenges created by the decision.
The IWGA Executive Committee (ExCo) met by teleconference call on Monday afternoon and the Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC) CEO Nick Sellers joined the discussion on the new situation. The ExCo reviewed input already received from IWGA’s main partners and took note of the initial review carried out by the BOC’s CEO and his staff. Of course, substantial further detailed evaluation needs to be carried out before the IWGA is in a position to make a decision on a possible change of dates to similar dates in 2022 or to slightly earlier dates in 2021 for The World Games 2021, but this work will be done very urgently.
In the coming days, there will be organised a teleconference for IWGA Member Federations to inform them about the results of the work by the IWGA and the BOC. At this virtual meeting, the federations will be invited to make their views known on the IWGA proposals.
“In these critical times, effective communication with the member federations is of key importance. Our goal is to find the best solution for all involved, and especially for the athletes. We need to take into account all aspects of the qualification process, event preparation and execution. It is a big challenge, but with effective collective and individual communications with each federation in the coming weeks, we are confident that we can achieve success”, says IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.