On August 3, 2016, at the 129th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it was decided to include karate, surfing, baseball, rock climbing and skateboarding competitions in the program of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 2020 Summer Olympics, which will be the 32nd in a row, will be held in the Japanese capital Tokyo. Tokyo will host the Olympics for the second time, the first time it happened back in 1964.
Then, 56 years ago, Japan became the first Asian country to host the Olympic Games. In the wake of the Japanese economic miracle, the 1964 Olympic Games were a symbol for Japan of its final recovery in the international arena following its defeat in World War II.
Note that the 2020 Olympics could have become the third in a row for the Japanese capital, but due to the Japanese-Chinese war, Japan refused to host the 1940 Olympics. Then the event was moved to the capital of Finland, Helsinki, but the Olympics were not destined to take place there either. World War II broke out and the 1940 Games were finally canceled.
In terms of the total number of Olympic Games that Japan has hosted, the 2020 Games will be the fourth in the history of the Land of the Rising Sun. Twice Japan hosted the Winter Olympics (Sapporo in 1974 and Nagano in 1998) and once, in 1964, Tokyo hosted the Summer Games.
Tokyo – the capital of the 2021 Olympics
Three cities were admitted to the final vote for the right to host the 2020 Olympics: Madrid (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey) and Tokyo (Japan). Until May 24, 2012, Doha and Baku were also contenders. Madrid applied for the third time in a row, and for the Turkish city this application was already the fifth.
A year before the announcement of the winning city in October 2012, according to bookmaker quotes, Tokyo had the highest chances (about 55%), Istanbul’s chances were estimated lower (about 35%), and Madrid’s victory was the least likely (about 10%).
Voting took place in two rounds, with an additional vote in the first round. The Japanese capital received 42 votes, and Istanbul and Madrid – 26 each. And the members of the International Olympic Committee had to choose from these two cities – who will compete with Tokyo in the final round. Istanbul won – 49 votes against 45. But the Turkish city did not become a serious rival for Tokyo. The capital of Japan won by a large margin – 60 to 36.
On September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires (Argentina), the IOC, at its 125th session, declared Tokyo the capital of the XXXII Summer Olympic Games.
Competitions at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics
The competition program has remained approximately the same as at the previous Games in Rio. On August 3, 2016, during the 129th session of the International Olympic Committee, a vote was held at which it was unanimously decided to include karate, surfing, baseball, rock climbing and skateboarding in the program of the 2020 Olympic Games. New types will complement the Olympic program, they will not be included in place of others. At the same time, the “new package” of competitions will operate exclusively for the Tokyo Olympics, the organizing committees of the next Summer Olympic Games will form the competitive program based on its current format
