The International World Games, scheduled for 2021 in Birmingham, will be held in 2022.

The event, originally slated to occur July 15-25, 2021, will now be held July 7-17, 2022, the International World Games Association announced Thursday morning.

The change is meant to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games, which was postponed to July 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The games were originally slated to take place this July in Tokyo.

In a press release, the IWGA argued that “keeping to the original dates in July 2021 would have meant excluding many athletes and officials involved in the Olympics, and would have led to a potential reduction in public and media interest.”

“A great deal of detailed work is now required to implement this decision, and further progress reports will be issued in due course,” said IWGA President José Perurena. “But I am impressed by the flexibility and efficiency of the Birmingham Organising Committee: they have been able, in just two days after the (International Olympic Committee) announcement, to get all the main organisational items in place.”

The World Games was projected to bring 100,000 athletes and fans to the Magic City, along with a $256 million economic impact to the Birmingham-metro area.