TOKYO – Spectators from abroad will not be allowed to participate in the Summer Olympics in Japan, organizers said on Saturday, making a major concession to the reality of Covid-19, even as they moved forward with plans to host the largest sporting event in the world.
The Tokyo Games, which start in July, were originally scheduled for 2020, but have been postponed for a year because of the pandemic. The Tokyo organizing committee has endeavored to develop security protocols to protect participants and local residents from the virus. Concerns have increased in Japan, with the vast majority saying in polls that the Games should not be held this summer.
The decision, taken by Tokyo organizers in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and Japan’s national and local governments, was foreshadowed by Japanese media for weeks.
IOC President Thomas Bach encouraged national organizing committees to guarantee vaccines for athletes and announced this month that China has offered to provide vaccines to participants who need one before the Games.
But not all local spectators will have a chance to be vaccinated before the opening of the Olympics on 23 July. In Japan, where vaccine implantation has been relatively slow, the population will not be close to being fully vaccinated at the start of the Games.
The organizing committees will now have a huge headache in getting refunds for ticket buyers. In bidding for the Games, Tokyo organizers said 7.8 million tickets would be made available. Typically, around 10 to 20 percent of Olympics tickets go to international spectators.
Japanese fans can take some time off. Local demand for tickets far outstripped supply, at least before the pandemic.
Coronavirus had a comparatively quiet effect in Japan, which had far fewer cases and deaths than the United States and Western Europe. The country has reported just over 8,700 deaths from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Japan declared a widespread state of emergency in early January, after an increase in infections. Since then, most areas have suspended the declaration. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced this week that he would be closed in Tokyo.
As part of its efforts to prevent the spread of new, more infectious variants of Covid-19, Japan has also blocked all new entrances to the country from abroad since late December.
These measures, however, have been suspended for Olympic athletes and some of their entourages. This decision was controversial: foreign students and workers are not yet able to enter the country, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given no clear indication of when that might change.
The restriction of foreign viewers hardly eases public concerns about the Games, since thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and journalists will still attend the event. Almost 80% of the public wants the Olympics to be postponed or canceled altogether, according to some surveys.
Regardless of the opposition, the authorities officially plan to start the countdown to the Games on Thursday with the torch relay, starting in Fukushima. As with the events of this summer, the number of spectators will be limited.
International ticket holders will now have to go through the refund request process. Everen Brown, 60, a photographer in Salt Lake City and a superfan who participated in 15 Olympics, bought about $ 8,600 in tickets for the Tokyo Games for him and his nephew.
They were looking forward to watching beach volleyball, archery, fencing, diving and a men’s basketball game and had tickets to the closing ceremony. According to the terms of CoSport, the brokerage that handled ticket sales to fans in the United States, customers will not be reimbursed for some fees – which Brown said can cost around $ 1,200 – and refunds can take time.
“Since we are being stopped, it is just right for them to make everyone feel good and refund all the money paid,” said Brown before the official announcement was made. What’s more, he said, after waiting an entire year, he wanted his refund quickly. “It would be very painful to watch it at home on TV and to know that they have the money and not to know when you are going to get it back.”