Tokyo Olympics: Spectators May Be Banned from Olympic Events
Covid-19 is causing more complications as Olympics organisers might ban all spectators
Fans have been waiting for Tokyo Olympics for months now, and the wait seems to be ending this month. But, unfortunately, the state of coronavirus in Japan means that the event will likely be held behind closed doors.
The Tokyo Olympics
The reason for the change of plans regarding the Tokyo Olympics is that the Japanese government is planning to impose a coronavirus state of emergency soon as the cases are rising. A formal decision regarding this will be announced in the next few days.
A local news outlet has cited a government official and said that the Tokyo Olympics would likely be held behind closed doors. Overseas fans are already banned from enjoying the event. Organizers have already set a limit of 10,000 fans or half the capacity of each venue, but this rule can change if the situation worsens and cases rise again.
Japan has already lost 14,800 people to the deadly virus, and experts believe that another wave might strain the country’s medical system. Just 15 per cent of the country’s population is fully vaccinated till the time of publishing this article.
Tokyo Olympics has also seen other changes recently. The announcement regarding the results of a ticket lottery for oversubscribed events has been postponed to this Saturday, and fans have been urged not to use the route of the Olympic marathon that will take place in the city of Sapporo.
The participants of the Tokyo Olympics have already started arriving in the country. About 11,000 athletes from 200 nations will take part in the event. In addition, Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee Chief, will arrive in Japan on Thursday.
Highlighting the possibility of closed-door Tokyo Olympics, sources stated, “Officials have been wrestling with the question for months but a ruling party setback in a Tokyo assembly election on Sunday, which some allies of Suga attributed to public anger over the Games, had forced the change of tack.”
Even a source from the ruling party started, “Politically speaking, having no spectators is now unavoidable.” The locals would likely prefer a closed-door Tokyo Olympics. A poll organized last month had said that over 80 per cent of the Japanese population opposed the event and cited fears that the arrival of athletes and officials might lead to an increase in potential cases and breaches of COVID-19 protocols.
In other news from the world of sports, Novak Djokovic’s tour prize money earnings reach US$150,000,000.
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