MONTREAL — Four years after they were erased by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world figure skating championships are heading back to Montreal.

The International Skating Union provisionally awarded the 2024 event to Montreal on Thursday

The 2020 world championships were scheduled for Montreal, but were cancelled on March 11, just five days before they were scheduled to start. They were one of the first global sports events to be wiped off the calendar by the pandemic.

March 11 was a pivotal day in the pandemic. The NBA suspended its season that same day, plus actor Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson announced they had COVID-19. Countless other sports events and leagues subsequently shuttered like dominoes.

The Montreal world championships will be held March 18-24, 2024.

The 2022 event will be in Montpellier, France, while Saitama, Japan will host the championships in 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021.