The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will open on July 23 next year, with the closing ceremony taking place on August 8.

Agreement was reached by Tokyo 2020 and the international Olympic committee (IOC) on the new dates for the games today.

The dates had been considered by organisers, following the declaration last week that the games would take place “no later than summer 2021” because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The schedule of July 23 to august 8 was believed to be favoured.

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshirō Mori spoke in favour of summer dates last week, while IOC coordination commission chair John Coates had said the organisation was working with international federations to find a window in July and August next year.

This year’s Olympics were due to begin on July 24 and run to august 9, the Paralympic games will take place from august 24 to September 5.

The original schedule for both games now looks set to shift one day, following confirmation of the new dates.