The 2021 Olympics Are Referred to as the 'Tokyo 2020' Games for a Simple Reason

Millions of people around the world look forward to the Olympic Games every four years. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, what was supposed to be held in 2020 was postponed to 2021. Even still, tons of stipulations and regulations have been put in place to ensure everyone's safety.

Even though all of these changes are being made, one thing is staying the same: the name. The games are being held in 2021, but they will still be officially referred to as the "Tokyo 2020" Olympics. Here's why.

According to Yahoo Sports, when the games were postponed because of the pandemic, it was agreed upon by the organizers that the games would be referred to by the year 2020. In a joint statement by International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, it was said that the games could "stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times" and that the torch could symbolize a light the end of it all.

Yahoo Sports points out that in addition to that, the reason for sticking with "2020" was a marketing decision. There had already been tons of money poured into marketing "Toyko 2020" that would have all gone to waste if they had to change a number on the end. A source from the organizing committee told Yahoo Sports that "torches, medals, other branding items, and merchandise were already being made using the name ‘Tokyo 2020’ and a name change would have meant additional costs."

Yahoo Sports also notes that some teams have gotten creative with their branding considering that we're no longer in 2020. Some are using "202One Olympics" or are including a one in the middle of the second zero.

Even though the pandemic isn't completely behind us, Olympic officials have been putting all kinds of regulations in place to ensure that everyone is as safe from COVID-19 as possible. They limited the number of people allowed to fly to Tokyo for the Games. Athletes have already been tested to make sure they don't have the virus before their arrival. Tennis player Coco Gauff has said she will miss this year's games because she caught the virus.

Despite this, tons of money in merch for the games will be lost. Typically, tons of fans would fly in from across the world to watch the sporting events in person. This year, that won't be the case because of COVID-19, and that means those people and organizations that planned to sell on location will have to find another way to make sales.

Surely, because so many people are stuck at home, it's likely a lot of people will end up selling and buying merch online, but that doesn't make up for all the sales, and there will still be some that lose money or have to deal with scalpers and ridiculously high prices online.