Foreign fans will be barred from participating in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, postponed by the pandemic due to ongoing concerns about the coronavirus, organizers announced on Saturday.
The decision was announced after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Japanese government, Tokyo government, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and local organizers.
“In order to provide clarity to ticket holders living abroad and to allow them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo 2020 organizing body said in a statement.
The IOC and the IPC “fully respect and accept this conclusion,” added the statement.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed last year to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan attributed about 8,800 deaths to COVID-19 and controlled the virus better than most countries.
About one million tickets were sold to fans outside Japan, while 4.45 million tickets were sold to Japanese residents.
“We could wait until the last moment to decide, except for the spectators,” said Seiko Hashimoto, the chairman of the organizing committee. “They have to guarantee accommodation and flights. Therefore, we have to decide in advance, otherwise we will cause a lot of inconvenience to them. I know this is a very difficult issue. “
IOC President Thomas Bach called it a “difficult decision”.
“We have to make decisions that may require everyone to sacrifice,” he said.
AP Sports journalist Stephen Wade, speaking to Tokyo’s Al Jazeera, said the polls indicated that more than 70 percent of Japanese “did not want foreign fans here”.
“The economic impact… is very small. This is an economy with a GDP / GNP of five or six trillion dollars, ”said Wade. “The Olympics are small, it takes a few weeks, it doesn’t have much effect.”
He said that the organizing committee, however, will be affected.
“Ticket sales are the third largest source of revenue, almost $ 800 million, they are going to lose a large part of that in refunds,” said Wade.
The financial weight of lost ticket sales falls on Japan. Overall, Japan is officially spending $ 15.4 billion to organize the Olympics. Several government audits claim that the real cost can be doubled. Everything except $ 6.7 billion is public money.
Meanwhile, British taekwondo athlete Lutalo Muhammad said that despite the absence of foreign fans, he is happy that the games are still going on.
“For me, one of the biggest things about the Olympics is having that support,” he said, referring to “family and friends flying from home”.
“An Olympics without this is going to be weird, but let’s face it, it’s been a very weird year,” said Muhammad.
Organizers are due to announce next month the capacity of the venues, which will be occupied by local residents.
The ban on foreign fans comes just days before the start of the Japanese Olympic torch relay in Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday.