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5 (Other) Times the Olympics Have Been Canceled or Postponed

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have officially been postponed until summer 2021, and even though everyone – athletes and the pubic alike – is disappointed, it seems like it was the best decision for the times.

Since the Olympics began in 1896, they’ve only been postponed or canceled a handful of times – which means what’s happening now is extremely rare, and postponing for a pandemic?

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This is the first time.

Every other postponement or cancellation has been due to war, as a matter of fact.

1. 1916 Summer Olympics

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

These were scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany, and were canceled due to WWI.

2. 1940 Summer Olympics

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Originally scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan, these were postponed due to the war, moved to Helsinki, Finland, and later canceled all together.

3. 1940 Winter Olympics

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These were also scheduled to take place in Germany, Garmisch-Partenkirchen this time, but WWII made it impossible.

4. 1944 Summer Olympics

London was too busy beating back the Nazis to host these games.

5. 1944 Winter Olympics

Cortina d’Ampezzo didn’t get to host these wartime games, either, as Italy had bigger fish to fry.

Do you love the Olympics? Does this change your opinion?

Let us know your thoughts on the decision in the comments!