In response to a new wave of infections, organisers are planning to ban all spectators from the Games, the Asahi daily reported on Thursday. The decision on spectators would be reached during talks on Thursday, according to people involved in the Games. Following the meetings, organizers will hold a news conference at 10:45 p.m. (1345 GMT).
The ban would be the latest blow to the troubled event, delayed by a year because of the pandemic and plagued by a string of setbacks, including massive budget overruns. The majority of medical experts have advised against having spectators at the games amid concerns that the influx of thousands of athletes and officials will fuel a fresh wave of diseases. The prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, announced that cases of Coronavirus infections have increased in Tokyo, partly due to the highly contagious Delta variant. In a news conference, Suga emphasized the need to avoid Tokyo becoming the starting point of another epidemic, saying there had been ‘good progress’ in vaccinations.
Yoki Furuse, a Kyoto University professor working with the government’s coronavirus experts group, recently predicted there may be 1,000 new cases a day in Tokyo by July and 2,000 in August, raising the risk of hospitals there running out of beds. Fans have been told to clap rather than cheer or sing in support of athletes. The organizers’ decision to cancel or scale back booths and events is frustrating sponsors. Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will lead the discussions on Thursday at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT). The Tokyo and national governments, as well as Paralympic officials, will also participate. Suga said that countermeasures must be strengthened. Tokyo will be declared a state of emergency. Japan has not seen outbreaks of COVID-19 as severe as in other countries, but has had 810,000 cases and 14,900 deaths. COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been slow, and only a quarter of the population has been vaccinated.
Tokyo’s state of emergency comes as the capital reported 896 new infections per day on Thursday, near highs last seen in mid-May. The new restrictions in Tokyo, under which restaurants will be asked to stop serving alcohol, will begin on Monday and run through August 22. The Games will take place from July 23 to August 8. An Olympic source familiar with the situation said organizers presented various spectator scenarios to Olympic sponsors as late as Wednesday.
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Ticket allocations to sponsors could not be used if there were no spectators for opening and closing ceremonies. If no sponsors attended, all sporting events would likely take place without fans. The lack of crowds will likely further impact the Games’ budget, which has already ballooned to an estimated $15.4 billion, with ticket revenues expected to plummet to closer to zero.
The decision to change tack came as a result of the ruling party’s setback in the Sunday assembly election, which some allies of Suga attributed to public anger over the Olympics, sources said. Japan will hold a parliamentary election this year, and the government’s insistence that the Games take place this year – postponed last year due to the virus – could cost it at the polls.
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