Spectators will not be allowed at the Olympic Games, as Tokyo declares a state of emergency in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday (8 July) the government of Japan announced that the city would be placed under a state of emergency from 12 July to 22 August. Following the announcement, Tokyo Games organisers, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the government of Japan met to discuss the impact on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The decision to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo is a measure aimed at suppressing the flow of people to prevent the spread of infection, as the number of confirmed Covid cases in the city remains high and the number of people becoming infected with variant strains is increasing.
In March it was announced that no overseas spectators would be allowed at the Games. Although it had been planned to allow domestic fans to attend, following yesterday’s announcement no spectators will be allowed at all.
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It had previously been agreed that a decision on spectators at the Paralympics would be made by 16 July, but this decision has been pushed back to the end of the Olympics.
A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee said the organisations “respect and support” the decision in the interest of a safe and secure Games for everybody.
“At the same time, all parties deeply regret for the athletes and for the spectators that this measure had to be put in place for the reasons outlined above,” he said.
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