The International Olympic Committee has announced the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics will begin July 23, 2021, and run through Aug. 8. The Paralympics will be held Aug. 24-Sept. 5, 2021.

IOC President Thomas Bach, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and Olympic and Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko joined on a conference call earlier today to settle the new dates after COVID-19 forced postponement of the Olympic Games, which were scheduled to begin July 24.

According to the IOC press release, those involved believe using these dates, the same as the ones planned for 2020, will give the athletes the most amount of time to prepare and qualify, while causing as little disruption as possible to the international sports calendar.

“With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge,” said Bach in the press release. “Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”

“It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games,” said International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons. “The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport.”