World Beach Games Postponed
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Next year's Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games have been postponed until 2023 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
ANOC said its Executive Council had decided not to stage the event as planned next year "to alleviate pressure on the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and ensure they can focus on preparing their athletes for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games".
The bidding process for the event, which had been opened alongside the 2023 edition in January, has also been pushed back to 2021, insidethegames reported.
Members of the Executive Council from the Americas will be hoping the 2023 event does not clash with the Pan American Games in Santiago, due to run from October 20 to November 5.
The 2023 World Beach Games will effectively replace the 2021 edition, and the postponement could prompt the umbrella body to look at staging the event on a quadrennial basis instead of every two years.
The inaugural Games were held in Doha, which stepped in to host after the event was relocated from San Diego because local organizers were unable to raise the necessary money to fund it, in October 2019.
It had been widely expected that there would not be an ANOC World Beach Games in 2021 after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed by a year in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
