The organizers of Tokyo Olympics announced on Monday to permit upto 10,000 audiences at this summer’s Tokyo Games. The upper limit will include officials and other stakeholders.
Though the organizers announced the limitation, they warned and could still prohibit audiences if the situation of the pandemic gets worst before the Games begin on July 23. “We acknowledge that there’s uncertainty on the situation with the pandemic during the Games, so we need to be very flexible,” said the president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizing committee, Seiko Hashimoto.
Any “abrupt change in the situation,” including the declaration of a fresh state of emergency over the period when the Games are taking place, would prompt a reconsideration, she said. In such a scenario, “all the options, including no spectator games, will be examined by the stakeholders.”
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would prefer to see fans in the stands, but if the pandemic situation worsens, banning any from attending is “definitely a possibility.”
