Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed to 2021 over coronavirus outbreak

We knew it was going to happen, but now the day is here -- the Toyko 2020 Olympics have been postponed, the first time an Olympics has been disrupted by a pandemic: coronavirus COVID-19.

The world is being rocked to its core over coronavirus COVID-19, and while International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound said it would be making its final decision regarding the postponing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with the World Health Organization (WHO), the decision has been made: the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been officially postponed.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been postponed until summer 2021 at the very least, which is another big deal -- it is the first time in history that the Olympics have been delayed or postponed in peacetime. The last time this happened was during the world wars, a much more violent and tumultuous time.

Japan has invested 10s of billions of dollars on the expectations of hosting the 2020 Olympics this year in Tokyo, with estimates ranging between $32 billion and $41 billion spend on building competition venues. Not only that, but Japan has invested heavily into expanding hotel capacities to handle the huge influx of people coming into the country.

The country is expected to bring around 10,000 athletes competing in the Olympics, as well as over 500,000 visitors to the games from across the world. Local businesses of all sizes were set to enjoy a huge injection of spending because of all of this, and will lose out in a very, very big way financially.