The WKF was initiated on October 10 in 1970 at its first General Assembly held in Tokyo in Japan ahead of the inaugural World Karate Championships.

Fifty years later, the WKF believe it has become a "universal, unified and modern" organisation with 200 National Federation members and "over 100 million practitioners around the world".

Karate is also set to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 which has been postponed to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WKF claim the new logo will "shape the branding of the organisation in the coming months" as it plans to launch "several digital initiatives".

WKF President Antonio Espinós said: "Unfortunately, due to the current situation, we are unable to celebrate our 50th anniversary as such memorable moment deserves and as we had planned before the pandemic.

"We intended to commemorate the historic occasion this year at Nippon Budokan since our first World Championships in 1970 and the Olympic debut of our sport share the same venue.

"The postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021 and the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic have altered our plans to honour the brilliant 50 years of our history.

"The 50th anniversary is an opportunity to thank all those who, with their effort and hard work, have contributed to our achievements, all those who are no more with us, and all those who continue with us contributing to the progress and development of our sport."