After initially stating that the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan would not be canceled due to the emerging coronavirus outbreak,the International Olympic Committee has gone back on their statement and officially postponed the 32nd Games of the Olympiad until 2021.

The IOC delayed their announcement for longer than most expected, considering almost every major sporting event had been officially canceled or postponed weeks before. The Italian Olympic Committee, which is the governing body for all Italian Sporting leagues, was the first western nation to cancel all of their Athletic events, most notably Serie A, the Italian first tier soccer division. The NBA was the first   American professional league to postpone their season after the Utah Jazz’s star center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and every major sporting league has since followed suit.

This is not the first time the Olympics have been postponed, or even the first time the Tokyo Olympics have been canceled. Both the Winter and Summer Olympics were scheduled to be held in Japan in 1940, but the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 prompted the IOC to cancel Japan’s rights to host the games. Japan eventually got the opportunity to host the 15th Olympiad in 1964.

The IOC’s announcement came days after the Canadian Olympic Committee said they would not send athletes to Japan unless the games were postponed until 2021. Australia’s Olympic Committee followed up Canada’s announcement by pulling out all of their athletes. If the IOC had not decided to postpone the games, it is presumed that many other nations would have followed in Australia and Canada’s footsteps.