It will be here before we know it: the 2020 Summertime Olympic Games, this time taking place in Japan’s capital of Tokyo

It’s Tokyo’s 2nd time hosting a Summer season Olympics, 56 years after their very first time in the spotlight. These Games will see the intro of some exciting brand-new sports to the lineup, too: skateboarding will make its Olympic launching, as well as karate, surfing and sport climbing.

There will be plenty of classics to view too, from the ever-popular swimming and gymnastics events to track and field and group sports. And while Olympic trials have yet to occur, we’ll more than likely be seeing the return of superstars like the 2016 gymnastics standout Simone Biles, swimming record-setter Katie Ledecky and track star Sydney McLaughlin, who was just 16 when she completed in the Rio Olympics and has been on the rise since.

When will the 2020 Olympics begin?

The 2020 Summertime Olympics will begin on July 24, 2020 and run till Aug. 9, 2020, with the opening ceremony on July 24 and the closing ceremony on Aug. 9.

Where are the 2020 Olympics being held?

For the 2nd time in its history, Tokyo is hosting the summer season Olympics; they first hosted back in 1964.

This time, Tokyo is looking to many of its preexisting facilities to stage the summer season’s events. The city has been remodeling arenas and restoring where they can: of 43 locations, 25 were currently standing, while eight are new and 10 more short-lived, as the Los Angeles Times reports.

The choice on a host city for the 2020 Summer season Olympics was determined back in 2013 in Argentina.

In 1964, Tokyo was the first Asian city to host the video games. They had initially been arranged as host for 1940, but the geopolitics of the era required a shift. (The 1940 games were eventually cancelled entirely.) The 1964 Games were actually held in October, to account for Japan’s summer heat and September tropical cyclone season.

What sports are in the Summertime Olympics?

The 2020 Summer Olympics will award medals across 339 occasions, representing 33 various sports

Here is the complete list of sports, and the variety of events within each sport: aquatics (49), archery (5 ), athletics (48), badminton (5 ), baseball/softball (2 ), basketball (4 ), boxing (13), canoeing (16), biking (22), equestrian (6 ), fencing (12), field hockey (2 ), football (2 ), golf (2 ), gymnastics (18), handball (2 ), judo (15), karate (8 ), pentathlon (2 ), rowing (14), rugby (2 ), sailing (10), shooting (15), skateboarding (4 ), sport climbing (2 ), browsing (2 ), table tennis (5 ), taekwondo (8 ), tennis (5 ), triathlon (3 ), volleyball (4 ), weightlifting (14) and wrestling (18).

Which U.S. athletes will likely be competing?

Simone Biles Katie Ledecky. Sydney McLaughlin. Serena Williams. There’s still a lot up in the air about who will end up contending at the 2020 Summertime Olympics. Some Olympic trials do not happen till late in 2020; for track and field and swimming, for instance, trials to determine who will wind up as an Olympian aren’t till June 2020, simply a month before the Olympics themselves.

Other sports, like much of the team occasions and the marathon, pick their certified athletes based upon efficiency in international competitors over the course of 2019 and early2020 NBC’s Olympics-dedicated Twitter account is a great location to keep track of initial and qualifying events.

When it comes to private professional athletes set to take the Olympic stage? Michael Phelps, the world’s winning-est Olympian and among the most identifiable Summertime Olympics athletes, most likely won’t be back; current public looks suggest the daddy of three is content letting his record promote itself after representing the U.S. in 4 successive Olympics. However Simone Manuel, who made waves with her gold-medal tie in 2016, is a possible 2020 Olympian, and Nathan Adrian, who is currently battling testicular cancer, might be back for round 3. And then there’s Ledecky, still distance swimming’s dominant force.

On the track and field side, identifiable names like Justin Gatlin might be in contention for an area in the competition; the previous 100 m-medalist from 2004 is posting leading times recently. Caster Semenya, on the other hand, has been a dominant force in the field– but it remains to be seen whether the 800 m champ will be allowed to contend.

As far as gymnastics goes, Simone Biles has actually been breaking records at current nationwide and international gymnastics competitions, suggesting that she’s prepared to rock for 2020.

Are there any changes to the Olympics this year?

The biggest change to the Olympics for 2020 is the addition of the 5 new sports and the return of baseball (missing in 2016), plus a few brand-new occasions, like the three-on-three basketball competitors.

One change sure to get a great deal of attention are the adjusted gymnastics group guidelines: instead of fielding a team of five athletes, each nation will be whittled down to 4 all-around entrants, with 2 more colleagues added to contend just in private occasions.

Are there any big controversies ahead of the Olympics?

Issues about costs

Olympics critics indicate increasing costs as a major issue; back in 2013, Tokyo suggested a budget of around $7 billion. That swelled at one point to an approximated $30 billion, with organizers winnowing it down to nearer $25 billion in the meantime. (For reference, Russia ended up investing $51 billion on the Sochi games– the highest known expenditure for an Olympics. That said, future summertime video games are taking a look at spending plans listed below $10 billion, thanks to new policies.)

Weather questions

Aside from the expenses, there are some issues about weather: Tokyo has actually seen progressively high summertime temperatures in the past couple of years, which implies outside events like the marathon could be impacted. On the one-year-to-go mark this summer, the city also experienced a torrential downpour. (In 1964, the Tokyo Olympics were actually held in October to avoid these climate issues.)

USA Gymnastics

U.S.A. Gymnastics has actually been roiled by accusations of sexual assault versus the group’s previous medical professional Larry Nassar in the previous couple of years, with star gymnasts including Aly Raisman and Simone Biles speaking up about abuse and advising their governing body to take actions towards modification.

Nassar pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual attack of a small and was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in Michigan specify prison, but Raisman and others have stayed singing in her criticisms of the companies for which he worked.

Questions about Russia

Russia will probably not complete as a nation at the 2020 Olympics, after the World Anti-Doping Company advised in November that the nation receive a four-year ban from global competition for not complying with doping investigations. In January, WADA shared their suspicions that Russia had damaged its professional athletes’ information prior to providing it for inspection to the firm. Russia has actually had a filled history with doping claims; it has actually been stripped of43 Olympic medals throughout the years.

Although Russia said in December that it would appeal the WADA decision, if the prospective restriction is upheld, Russian athletes who have actually not been found guilty of doping would still be permitted to complete separately. The setup would be similar to the 2018 Olympics, when a choose number of Russian professional athletes were cleared to compete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as OAR— the neutral “Olympic Athletes Russian” delegation.

Doping

Russia isn’t the only nation facing issues about doping among its professional athletes. Making use of substances to boost athletic efficiency has long been a fixture in modern competition, and recently superstars like Lance Armstrong have had their legacies reconsidered in light of brand-new details about doping.

Swimming has been in focus in particular recently: in October, U.S. swimmer and prior Olympic medalist Conor Dwyer announced his retirement following a 20- month restriction due to the discovery of his testosterone use. Australia’s Shayna Jack failed a drug test in July, although she contends she consumed the banned substance unconsciously.

China’s Sun Yang has been a flashpoint of the doping debate for years: he first checked favorable for banned substances in 2014, and is under examination for smashing a vial of his blood to avoid testing in2016 At this summer’s world championships, where he dominated in his occasions, numerous fellow rivals voiced their objections to his ongoing look in the sport.

Bribery accusations

The longtime head of Japan’s Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, stepped down this summer after a French examination into the option of Tokyo as the host city for 2020 uncovered potential corruption and the use of allurements in securing votes back in2013 Takeda has kept his innocence, but recused himself from his Olympic roles in the face of the controversy.

Water temperature level and clearness

Like in Rio in 2016, there are some issues about the quality of the water in Tokyo Bay, which will be home to cruising occasions and open-water distance swimming occasions. In 2017, trace amounts of E. coli germs– 20 times the safe requirement– were discovered in the Bay, resulting in an increased focus on decontamination. And at a test event in summer season 2019, the water temperature itself led athletes to confess to being overheated during their long-distance swims.

In October, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that surveys of water quality and temperature level in the Odaiba Marine Park showed that their attempts to improve water quality were “reliable,” by utilizing a series of undersea screens that minimized the existence of coliforms. Studies of water temperature level also recommended the temperature levels on the same summer season dates in 2019 were within the target.

Labor concerns

Labor companies, including the Centre for Sport and Human Being Rights, have reported unsafe and problematic working conditions for building and construction employees contracted to develop and recondition Tokyo’s lots of venues, pointing out a “culture of worry” among employees, plus low pay and overwork, that might have led to several deaths up until now. For its part, the IOC has stated it is working closely with the U.N. agency the International Labour Company, as the Japanese media has actually reported, and will be resolving the issues “with appropriate Japanese authorities.” That remained in July.

How can I view the 2020 Olympics?

As in the past, NBC will be home to 2020 Summer Olympics coverage. They will transmit on TELEVISION and likewise have a home for all Olympics viewing on their Olympic Channel website, with events available to livestream. For cord-cutters, NBC apps for streaming and mobile will offer access on TVs and smart gadgets– however you will have to provide a cable television login or buy a membership in order to access the full protection.

Where will the 2024 Summer season Olympics be held?

The 2024 Summer Olympics will be kept in Paris. And all the escape in 2028, Los Angeles will play host.

Compose to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com