It takes 24 days and half a year until the opening of the Tokyo Paralympics.
The tournament organizing committee and others have decided to set an upper limit on the number of spectators by spring, but when NHK asked the Tokyo Paralympic Games groups how much it was possible to watch the games at the venue, more than 80% of the groups were spectators. It turns out that I think I have to limit.
NHK conducted a questionnaire survey of 26 sports organizations in Japan this month as it has been half a year until the opening of the Tokyo Paralympics, and received responses from 25 organizations.
When asked how much it was possible to watch the game at the spectator's venue, 32% of the groups answered "about 50%", with "no spectators" and "coaches, caregivers, family members, etc." It was found that "only" was 16% each, and 84% of the total thought that they had to limit the audience, including 20% that required some kind of restriction.
On the other hand, no group answered "full", and it was found that it is difficult to realize the "full stadium" that fills the venue, which was the goal of the Paralympics at the beginning.
Voices pointing out the difficulty of infection control as reasons for having to limit the number of spectators, such as "In the current situation where infection is not settled, it can only be held by non-spectators" or "Audiences are unspecified and cannot be managed". It went up.
In addition to this, "I have been appealing to actually see the parasports for popularization, so I hope that it will be full, but at the moment it can only be unattended," said the parasports, which is harder to attract attention than the Olympics. Some groups were concerned about the impact on the spread.
The Games Organizing Committee and the government have decided to decide the upper limit of the number of spectators and the acceptance of spectators from overseas by this spring, and will be forced to make difficult decisions while checking the infection situation not only in Japan but also overseas. Will be.
The "unique opportunity" for the spread of the Paralympic Games
The Paralympics are hard to attract attention, and the Paralympics, which are visited by many spectators, are considered to be a unique and valuable opportunity to promote their spread.
By actually seeing athletes with various disabilities playing an active role in the field, the people who support the athletes, and the dedicated artificial limbs and wheelchairs used in the competition, you can get to know the great taste of the competition. It is expected that it will not only be received, but also an opportunity to think about diversity.
In order to realize a "full stadium" that fills the venue at the Tokyo Paralympics, the Games Organizing Committee has set the cheapest ticket for groups at 500 yen, which is easy to buy, and sells it to children and students through the local government. He also wanted to encourage children to watch the game by utilizing the "School Cooperation Watching Ticket".
However, due to the postponement of the tournament for one year, about 200,000 tickets, which had already sold about 970,000 tickets, were requested for refund.
The Games Organizing Committee and the government have decided to decide the upper limit of the number of spectators and the acceptance of spectators from overseas by this spring, and the people concerned said, "If the number of spectators is limited, Tokyo rather than the Tokyo Olympics. The impact on the Paralympics may be greater. "