TOKYO • No alcohol, no hugs, no cheers and no autographs.
Olympic organisers yesterday unveiled tough new rules for spectators at the pandemic-delayed Games as they marked one month until the opening ceremony on July 23.
Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto warned festivities "will have to be suppressed" to keep the Games safe, and conceded that organisers will need to be "creative" to stoke a party atmosphere.
Games chiefs decided on Monday to allow up to 10,000 spectators into competition venues, but Ms Hashimoto warned them not to expect the kind of festive mood currently being enjoyed by football fans at Euro 2020.
"In Europe, the venues are filled with celebration," she said. "Unfortunately, we may not be able to do the same."
Fans are forbidden from cheering or "making direct contact with other spectators" and will be asked to go straight home after events end. Foreign tourists have already been banned.
Asking athletes for autographs or "expressing verbal support" is also a no-no, as is waving a towel or "any form of cheering that could create a crowd".
The strict rules are in line with those applied to athletes and others involved at the Games, including daily testing and a ban on travel except between venues and the Olympic Village.
Japan's tough stance was further justified after Osaka health authorities yesterday reported a second member of Uganda's Olympic team - the second group to arrive in Japan after Australia's women's softball squad - had tested positive for Covid-19 despite all having received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The team, whose training camp is in Osaka, have been placed in quarantine until July 3.
"The festive mood will have to be suppressed - that has become a major challenge," Ms Hashimoto said of the enhanced measures.
"People can feel joy in their hearts, but they can't be loud and they have to avoid crowds.
"Those are the areas where we need to be creative and we are putting in a lot of effort to come up with a new way of celebrating."
Spectators will also have to do without alcohol at venues, even though it is allowed at other sporting competitions held in Japan.
Ms Hashimoto said the ban was decided "to alleviate the concerns of the public as much as possible", with Games sponsor Asahi Breweries calling the move "natural".
Despite the challenges and the restrictions, she insisted that the stripped-back Games were a chance to refocus attention on the "true values" of the Olympics.
"In recent years when I was participating as an athlete, there were concerns that this (event) has become so huge," the 56-year-old said.
"This time, I feel that the true values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games are finally being discussed. I hope such spirit of caring about each other will become the legacy of the Games."
Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya yesterday told Xinhua news agency "our preparation is in the very final stretch" as International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates, who arrived in Tokyo last week, accompanied Ms Hashimoto on a tour of the Games' gymnastics venue.
Broadcaster JNN also reported IOC president Thomas Bach will arrive in Japan on July 9, three days earlier than planned.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, XINHUA
