Organisers of postponed Tokyo Games ban foreign spectators in a bid to reduce coronavirus risks.
The Olympic and Paralympics Games thrive on one thing: International sport fans. But after a year of delay, they will not be in Tokyo when the Games finally begin.
Only Japanese fans will be allowed into the stadiums. Organisers say it is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the public’s safety.
The decision is a big blow to the athletes, as well as the businesses and sponsors who have spent billions of dollars to be part of the world’s biggest sporting event.
So, can the games succeed?
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga began 2021 promising that the delayed Tokyo Olympics would go ahead in July, even as Japan contends with a surge in coronavirus cases and the rising cost of an event that is becoming increasingly unpopular with the public.
“The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held this summer,” Suga said in a written statement for the New Year, describing the event as a symbol of world unity. “We will make steady preparations to realise a safe and secure tournament.”
Japan aims to start vaccinating the general public against the coronavirus in May, just two months before the delayed Olympics are due to start, as more doubts emerge over whether the event will even take place this year.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said the government was hoping the majority of adults would be vaccinated by July, when the Games are due to open.
About 10,000 medical workers will be first in line for free inoculation, with the programme due to start next month, top government officials have said, followed by 50 million at-risk people including those with underlying conditions and aged above 65.
Ministers hope to start mass vaccination in May at the earliest, the Yomiuri and Sankei Shimbun newspapers reported, citing unnamed government sources.
Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony is in six months, but a surge in COVID-19 infections in Japan and worldwide has cast fresh doubt over the event.
Public support for the Olympics has plummeted, with more than 80 percent of people recently polled in Japan saying they should be cancelled or postponed again.
