Originally scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 1, 2021, in Banska Bystrica in Slovakia, the Festival has been moved back to 2022.

This comes as a knock-on effect of the postponement of the Tokyo Games, which will now start on July 24, 2021, having also been moved back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Winter EYOF, scheduled from February 6 to 13 in Vuokatti in Finland, will not be rescheduled and will go ahead as planned.

EOC secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi commented on the move.

"The European Youth Olympic Festival is extremely important for the youth of Europe and we are very thankful to the organisers of Banska Bystrica 2021 and the Government authorities in Slovakia for their flexibility and commitment to the festival," he said.

"We are confident the EYOF will be a great success in Slovakia when they are eventually held and will act as a true celebration of youth and renewal following the coronavirus pandemic."

The EOC Executive Committee also discussed  the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during its meeting.

EOC President Janez Kocijančič chaired the gathering on the "current state of sport in Europe" and how to assist the 50 European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs).

Kocijančič said: "As the stewards of the Olympic Movement in Europe, we need to stand strong and united behind the policies of the International Olympic Committee for the benefit of sport and our athletes.

"Let us be clear that if any ENOC is endangered, they should contact the EOC and we will do everything we can to help them in this time of crisis."

Recently, 46 of the 50 ENOCs were surveyed to understand the impact of the virus in their countries.

The general consensus was that finances have taken a serious blow and access to training facilities for athletes has been severely impeded.

To date, there have been more than 3.29 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in the deaths of 228,800 people.