The day after the end of the state of emergency in Japan, the Tokyo Olympic Games Organizing Committee announced on Monday that competition venues will be able to host local spectators at 50% of their capacity, with a maximum limit of 10,000 people. However, events could take place behind closed doors if Covid-19 cases were to rise again.
With 32 days to go before the opening of the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo, from July 23 to August 8, the question about the presence of spectators in the stands has been resolved.
The audience will be exclusively Japanese, as organizers decided in March to ban foreign spectators from coming to Tokyo due to health risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a first in Olympic history. The emergence of this new coronavirus had already led to the postponement of these Games from summer 2020 to this summer.
The decision to allow the presence of spectators was made during an online meeting with the Organizing Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Olympic Committee. On Sunday, the state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo and other prefectures.
Nevertheless, Japan remains very attentive to the situation in the country. Some restrictions are maintained and the Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, warned that they could be strengthened if necessary. Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo, stated that “if there is a radical change in the infection situation, we may need to reassess this issue among ourselves and consider the option of no spectators at the venues.”
A lottery will determine who among those who already have tickets for the Olympics will be able to attend the events. The lucky ones will be required to wear masks. Additionally, they will be “forbidden from speaking loudly or shouting.”
