Virus concerns cancel Olympic cultural event

Tokyo Olympic organizers announced Thursday that they are canceling a cultural event featuring collaborative performances of kabuki and opera next month due to the spreading of the coronavirus.

The event already had a setback last year after world-famous tenor Placido Domingo withdrew following his sexual harassment allegations.

The cancellation follows Tuesday's agreement between Tokyo's Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Games until the summer of 2021 due to the ongoing global pandemic.

The revised "Tokyo 2020 Nippon Festival" scheduled for April 18, was to feature Japanese kabuki actor Ebizo Ichikawa and opera singers Italian soprano Anna Pirozi and Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott in a performance aimed at bringing together the east and the west and contrasting the traditional and the modern.