Tokyo Olympics for Spectator Bars from Abroad to Stem Covid-19 Risk

According to the organizers, tickets sold to foreign spectators will be refunded. About 600,000 tickets have been sold to people located outside of Japan and about 4 million to people in Japan.

“Our first priority was, is and remains the safety of all participants in the Olympics and, of course, of the Japanese people to whom we owe so much respect,” said International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

Japan has been much less affected by coronavirus than the United States and many Western countries, with fewer than 9,000 deaths. The spread of new variants of the virus has deepened concerns in Japan that an influx of visitors to the Olympics could speed up Covid-19 cases.

Public opinion polls have consistently shown that most Japanese prefer the Games to be postponed again or canceled rather than held this year. Concerns about the spread of the virus are the main concern.

A mid-March poll by the Mainichi newspaper found that 49% of respondents wanted the Games postponed or canceled, while 45% were open to holding them this year as planned. Of the latter group, most foreign viewers should be banned. The survey did not give any margin of error.

Japan has just begun its implementation of vaccines, but the organizers of the Games have said that they would have sufficient social and hygiene measures to control the spread of the virus. The IOC has said it would like to vaccinate athletes.

Norio Sugaya, an infectious disease specialist at Keio University in Tokyo, said that even if people coming from abroad for the Olympics are limited to athletes, support staff, the media and other key participants , infections could spread and lead to a few hundred related deaths. “Everyone is wondering if this is something we should do by taking that risk?” He said.

Organizers did not say what would happen to the reimbursed tickets, but they could reduce the overall levels of spectators at the event to reduce the risk of virus transmission. Any reduction in ticket revenue would be a blow to Japanese organizers, who have budgeted to receive more than $ 800 million for ticket sales.

Companies that have already been severely affected by the coronavirus, such as hotels and restaurants, will lose the income of foreign tourists arriving in Japan for the Games.

Tokyo 2020 executive director Toshiro Muto said local organizers do not intend to cover cancellation fees for any flights and accommodation booked by foreign spectators. He also said guests of Games sponsors could attend the event if they participate in the Olympic operations, but not if they are just spectators.

Pre-Games events are scheduled to begin on March 25 with the start of the Olympic torch relay in Japan which will end with the opening ceremony. The accumulation of the Games has been overshadowed in recent weeks by the resignation of the President of Tokyo 2020 and the creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies after sexist expressions.

Tokyo 2020’s new president, Seiko Hashimoto, said a recent modest rise in new virus cases in Japan helped prevent viewers from coming from abroad to the Games. “To make sure we don’t create a burden on the medical system we had to make that decision,” Ms. Hashimoto.

The agreement was completed at a meeting between Mr Bach, Ms Hashimoto, the Japanese Olympic minister, the governor of Tokyo and the head of the International Paralympic Committee. It was expected after government officials recently told major Japanese media to block viewers from abroad.

—Miho Inada contributed to this article.

Write to Alastair Gale to [email protected]