Tokyo 2021: spectators at the Games?
Meeting on June 21
Tokyo 2020 boss Toshiro Muto, left, and President Seiko Hashimoto attend the press conference after receiving a report from a panel of infectious disease experts on Friday, June 18, 2021 in Tokyo.
AP - Yuichi Yamazaki
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The Japanese authorities and organizers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will discuss the presence of local spectators on June 21, particularly during the Tokyo 2021 Olympics (July 23-August 8).
Japan's top Covid-19 adviser has indicated that it would be "
desirable
" for there to be no audience at all, Kyodo news agency reports.
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Will spectators be able to attend the next Olympic Games (23 July-8 August 2021) and cheer on the 11,000 athletes expected in Japan?
A meeting on the subject is scheduled for Monday, June 21, Seiko Hashimoto
,
president of the Tokyo 2021 Games organizing committee
, announced on Friday
.
“
Holding the Games without spectators is a better way to control risk and ensure safe and secure Games
,” she told a press conference.
But as long as we have spectators who want to attend the Games on site, we will try as much as possible to satisfy them and limit the risks
”.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, that of the Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons, the organizers of these Games and the national and local authorities will attend this undoubtedly decisive discussion concerning the presence of the Japanese public.
In March, Japan decided to ban the arrival of foreign spectators, to guard against a possible outbreak of cases in the archipelago.
Games without "desirable" spectators
This Friday, during a meeting, Shigeru Omi, the country's main Covid-19 advisor, indicated that an Olympic Games without spectators would be "
desirable
" and the most effective way to reduce the risk of the spread of the new coronavirus during this period, Kyodo news news agency reports.
The main medical adviser to the Japanese government and his colleagues have also warned that the organizers will have to be ready to back down and ban all spectators if the health situation and the pressure on the medical system worsen during the Games.
Lifting of the state of emergency on June 20
On Thursday, June 17, the Japanese government announced the lifting of the state of emergency as of June 20 in Tokyo and in eight other departments of the country.
In the capital, the number of spectators for major events is capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, whichever is lower.
This rule will remain in effect at least until July 11.
After this date, the ceiling will be raised to 10,000 people or 50% of the capacity of a site.
But Japanese experts have urged Games organizers to "
impose higher standards
" if they allow spectators.
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