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The 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were meant to take place in Tokyo in Japan this summer, have been been postponed until 2021.

The event was due to begin on 24 July, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the Olympic Games, has said it will now take place next year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The IOC's president Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, had concerns about the worldwide pandemic and the impact it has had on how athletes have been able to prepare for the Games.

"I proposed to postpone for a year and [IOC] president Thomas Bach responded with 100% agreement," the Japanese prime minister said.

He added: "This will make it possible for athletes to play in the best condition, and will make the event a safe and secure one for spectators."

The Paralympics which were to take place afterwards have also been put back a year. International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said the postponement was "the only logical option".

The British Olympic Association (BOA) which oversees Team GB, said it was "the right decision" and lots of athletes like sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and cycling and athletic champion Kadeena Cox have supported the decision too.

The rescheduling of this year's summer Games is the latest in a long list of sporting events that have either been cancelled or postponed to try to limit the spread of the virus, including the Euro 2020 football tournament.

The Games have led to some amazing moments down the years and many athletes and para-athletes were hoping to make more history - they will now have to wait another year.

It got us at Newsround thinking about some of those great moments - check these out:

In 1968, American track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos used their platform at the Olympic games to make a really important political statement.

The pair both wore black gloves during the 200m medal ceremony and raised their fists as America's national anthem played. This was a black power salute - campaigners in the US had been calling for equal right for black people and this was their symbol.

The runners wanted to draw attention to racism and the poor treatment of black people in the US. It has since become one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history.

British sprinter Jonnie Peacock - you may also recognise him from Strictly Come Dancing - became the world's fastest leg amputee at the Games in London.

The athlete, who was just 19-years-old at the time, ran 100m in just 10.90 seconds. 80,000 people were there to watch him win a gold medal and the IPC, which is in charge of the Paralympics, has said it was "arguably the greatest single moment in Paralympic sporting history".

Michael Phelps made history at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

The American swimmer managed to bag a staggering eight gold Olympic medals, winning every single one of his events including the 100m and 200m butterfly, 400m individual medley and 200m freestyle.

He broke Mark Spitz's previous record of seven gold medals which had remained untouched for a whopping 36 years!

'Super Saturday' was the name famously given to Team GB's most successful day at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The team managed to secure 12 gold medals on that day in both men and women's rowing events, cycling and athletics.

British track and field athletes Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all managed to come out on top in their respective events in front of 80,000 people.

Ennis-Hill took gold in the heptathlon, Mo Farah left his competition in the dust during the 10,000m race and Rutherford took the top spot in the long jump.

Simone Biles is arguably the most famous gymnast of our time, but she isn't the only one to have left her mark on the world of gymnastics.

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci managed to secure three gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada.

The athlete also became the first female gymnast in history to score a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event - how epic is that!

African-American track and field star Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

He came first in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump and he also managed to set three world records too!

Jesse Owens' victories are still really important today because he made it clear that all people are equal.

Adolf Hitler was in charge of Germany at the time and believed that Germans were above all other races. However, Owens' iconic wins proved Hitler and the Nazis wrong!