Image Courtesy- Variety
Ahead of Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee along with five parties the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Government of Japan (GOL) on Monday decided to set a limit of spectators to 50 per cent of capacity up to a maximum of 10,000 fans for all Olympic venues. This decision comes when the games open in just over a month.
“In light of the government’s restrictions on public events, the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50 per cent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people at all venues. (Students in the schools’ spectator programme and their supervisors will not be considered in these numbers, and will be treated separately as they are not spectators.)” stated in an official statement shared by International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Tokyo Games are set to open on July 23. Fans from abroad were banned several months ago. Officials say local fans will be under strict rules. They will not be allowed to cheer, must wear masks, and are being told to go straight home afterwards.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has favoured allowing fans, said before the official announcement that he would bar fans if conditions change. “If a state of emergency is necessary, I will be flexible and open to no fans to achieve that the games give top priority to safety and security for the people,” Suga said. “In case of a state of emergency, it is quite possible for safe and secure (games) I will not hesitate to have no fans,” he added.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike also said before the talks that fans may need to be banned if conditions changes. “Under this COVID-19 pandemic, people in Tokyo, people in Japan, are feeling very uneasy. We have concerns and the experts are also making recommendations about the risk of spreading the infection,” Koike said. “If there should be a major change in the sanitary situation or infection situation, we need to revisit this matter among ourselves and we may need to consider the option of having no spectators in the venues.”
The official statement also stated: “The current competition schedule remains unchanged. In principle, spectators will be admitted to events subject to the above limits.”
“However, if a state of emergency or other priority measures aimed at preventing infection are implemented at any time after 12 July 2021, restrictions on spectator numbers at the Games, including non-spectator competitions, will be based on the content of the state of emergency or other relevant measures in force at that time.” official statement International Olympic Committee (IOC) added.
“In the event of any rapid change in infection status and in the capacity of the medical care system, a five-party meeting will be held promptly to consider further measures.” it added, “A framework will be implemented to keep monitoring the status of infections and medical care using expert advice.”
“Consistent and unified messages aimed at ensuring safe and secure Games by the five parties will be delivered. The equivalent policies governing the Paralympic Games will be decided by 16 July 2021, a week before the opening of the Olympic Games.” an official statement.