The Paralympics in Tokyo will be held without spectators due to the acute corona situation.
As expected, the organizers decided this Monday at a meeting with the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo government and the central government.
For the same reason, spectators were largely excluded from the recently concluded Olympic Games.
An exception to the Paralympics starting on August 24th is to be made for schoolchildren as part of a government education program: They may watch competitions in arenas if the local school authorities so wish in consultation with their parents. During the Paralympics, around 4,400 athletes from around 160 countries will vie for the medals.
Japan meanwhile wants to extend the state of emergency in the Paralympic city of Tokyo and five other regions and expand it to seven other prefectures. The Japanese government wants to put the state of emergency until September 12th and thus until after the end of the Paralympics, as Japanese media reported on Monday. The government will officially decide this on Tuesday. The number of new infections and severe cases had recently climbed to highs.
At the start of the meeting of the Paralympics organizers, IPC President Andrew Parsons said the Olympic Games, which recently ended in Tokyo, had shown that the Games could be held safely despite the pandemic. The measures to protect the participants and the population would have worked, said Parsons. Nevertheless, one should not be negligent with a view to the Paralympics. Everyone should stay “vigilant” and stick to the rules.