Overseas fans are being postponed due to the ongoing concern about the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Tokyo due to pandemics, organizers announced on Saturday.
The decision was announced after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and local organizers.
‘To give clarity to the cardholders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have concluded that they would not be able to enter Japan during Olympic and Paralympic Games, ”the organizing body of Tokyo 2020 said in a statement.
The IOC and IPC “fully respect and accept this conclusion”, the statement said.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan attributed COVID-19 approximately 8,800 deaths and had better control of the virus than most countries.
About one million tickets were allegedly sold to fans from outside Japan, while 4.45 million tickets were sold to residents of Japan.
“We could wait until the last minute to make a decision, except for the spectators,” said Seiko Hashimoto, chairman of the organizing committee. ‘They need to secure accommodation and flights. We must therefore decide early, otherwise we cause a lot of inconvenience. I know this is a very difficult matter. ”
IOC president Thomas Bach calls it a ‘difficult decision’.
“We have to make decisions that possibly sacrifice from everyone,” he said.
AP journalist Stephen Wade, who spoke to Al Jazeera of Tokyo, said the polls indicated that more than 70 percent of Japanese people “do not want overseas fans here”.
‘The economic impact … is very small. “This is an economy with five or six billion dollars of GDP / GDP,” Wade said. “The Olympics are small potatoes, it’s been a few weeks, it’s not having much effect.”
However, he said the organizing committee would be affected.
“Ticket sales are the third largest source of revenue, nearly $ 800 million, and they’re going to repay a large portion of it to repayments,” Wade said.
The financial burden of lost ticket sales falls on Japan. Overall, Japan officially spends $ 15.4 billion to host the Olympics. Several government audits say the actual cost could be twice as much. A total of $ 6.7 billion is public money.
Meanwhile, British taekwondo athlete Lutalo Muhammad said despite the absence of foreign fans, he was pleased that the matches were still going on.
“For me, it’s one of the biggest things about the Olympics to have that support,” he said, referring to “family and friends flying away from home.”
“An Olympics without it would be strange, but let’s be honest, it was a very strange year,” Muhammad said.
Next month, organizers are expected to announce the capacity at venues, which will be filled by locals.
The ban on foreign supporters comes days before the Japanese Olympic torch relay begins in eastern Fukushima prefecture on Thursday.