Tokyo stands firm on 10,000 fans cap

TOKYO • Up to 10,000 domestic spectators will be allowed in Tokyo 2020 venues, the Olympics organisers said yesterday, a decision that cuts against the recommendation of medical experts who said holding the event without fans was the least risky option.

The official announcement ends months of speculation and highlights Japan's determination to push on with the Games and salvage the multi-billion-dollar extravaganza amid public opposition and deep concern about a resurgence in infections.

The decision was widely expected after some recent comments by the organisers and as the government's own medical experts last week appeared resigned to the event going ahead with fans.

The limit for the Games, scheduled to begin on July 23, "will be set at 50 per cent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people", organisers said.

However, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga yesterday said he would not rule out holding the Olympics without spectators if the capital was under a state of emergency for Covid-19. "In the event a state of emergency was declared then we can't rule out not having spectators," he said during a tour of vaccination sites in Tokyo.

Cheering - either for a victory or a plucky underdog - will likely be quelled as shouting will be prohibited. Organisers also said masks would be required and spectators are requested to travel directly to venues and go straight home afterwards.

Crowd numbers could be further reduced after July 12, depending if "quasi emergency" Covid-19 measures, due to expire the day before, are extended or due to any other anti-virus measures in force at the time, according to the organisers. Spectators from overseas have already been barred.

Organisers are still considering whether to allow alcohol to be served in venues, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said, although it will be allowed inside athletes' rooms at the Olympic village.

Condoms, which have been distributed at every Games since Seoul 1988, will be only made available to competitors once they depart the Games in a break from Olympic tradition.

Events with spectators have already been taking place in Japan, with some 7,600 fans attending a Yakult Swallows pro baseball game in Tokyo on Sunday.

But with the cap on crowd sizes, ticket revenues are likely to be reduced by more than half from an earlier expected 90 billion yen (S$1.1 billion), Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer Toshiro Muto said.

Initially, organisers sold some 4.48 million tickets and the government had expected a tourism windfall. Some 840,000 tickets have since been refunded but the caps mean another decrease, bringing the total number down to 2.72 million tickets, he said.

Capping the number of fans at both the Olympics and Paralympics will reduce the expected positive economic impact from the Games by about 5 per cent, according to Nomura Research Institute executive Takahide Kiuchi.

Virus countermeasures ahead of the Games continue to be sharpened, with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach yesterday saying the vaccination rate for athletes and officials residing in the village was now "well above 80 per cent", exceeding initial expectations.

REUTERS