Now we're losing another live sports event to distract us.
"The prime minister of Japan just announced a plan to delay the summer Olympic games. Again, the summer Olympics are going to be postponed. The prime minister says until 2021 at the latest," CNN's John Berman said.
"This is unprecedented. The Olympics have never been delayed. They have been canceled, but they have never been delayed. Will Ripley is live in Tokyo with the breaking details."
"It is remarkable, this historic moment we're living in, John. World War I and World War II canceled three Olympic games in the history of the modern Olympics. They have never been postponed until today," Ripley said.
"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe moments ago speaking with reporters after getting off a call with the president of the international Olympic committee, Thomas Bach and Prime Minister Abe confirmed he requested that the Olympics that were supposed to be held on July 24th here in Tokyo, the Tokyo 2020 summer games, games that this country won the bid for seven years ago, they built a new stadium, they're still building infrastructure, signs everywhere around this city, this has been a cornerstone of Japan's identity for the last seven years since they won the bid and now it is not happening in 2020, but they're hoping it is going to happen in the summer of 2021, which will be months later, the winter Olympics in Beijing.
"Quite an extraordinary year, 2021 and 2022. For the year 2020, the Olympics are a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. And Japan is on track to spend $20 billion already on these games. They have been way over budget. now some economists are saying a postponement could cost an additional $5 billion, $5.5 billion. There is a logistical nightmare they have to work out. All the venues they need to basically reschedule."
