(Reuters) – Denmark has withdrawn as the host of next year’s Artistic Gymnastics World Championships due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Danish Gymnastics Federation (DIF) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Copenhagen was set to stage the 50th edition of the competition from Oct. 18-24, 2021, two months after the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympics.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said in a separate statement that it was disappointed with the Danish federation’s decision and would consider launching a bidding process to identify a new host country.
“The Danish Gymnastics Federation has informed the FIG of its withdrawal from hosting the 50th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships,” the world governing body said.
“The FIG Executive Committee (EC) has taken note of this decision and has expressed its regret and disappointment. The EC will shortly consider all consequences resulting from this situation, including the launch of a new bidding procedure.”
The Artistic World Championships are held annually in non-Olympic years but, with the Tokyo Games pushed back a year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the two events will take place in the same year.
Denmark had previously hosted the Artistic World Championships in 2006.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
