English
News
10.11.2021
Press Release – Terre de Jeux 2024 welcomes French, and French lovers, the world over
04.11.2021
Accor becomes an official partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024
03.11.2021
Press Release – COP26: Paris 2024 to join UNFCCC’s “Race to Zero” Campaign
28.10.2021
Press Release – 1000 Days to Go until Paris 2024 Games, Official Licensed Products begin their Olympiad
18.10.2021
Official Paris 2024 supporter, Sodexo Live!, will provide catering at the Athletes’ village
13.10.2021
Press Release – 1,000 days before Paris 2024 Games Marathon Pour Tous Paris 2024 Mass Event Running launched with an Marathon Pour Tous
Tokyo 2020IOC President draws parallels between sport and culture at “Olympic Agora”Tokyo 2020Worldwide Olympic Partners showing their support for athletes in Tokyo
Tags
50 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES
THE HISTORY OF THE PARALYMPIC GAMES
IOC NewsPress releasesTokyo 2020Beijing 2022Paris 2024Milano Cortina 2026Dakar 2026NextTokyo 2020Olympians to connect and celebrate Tokyo 2020 at first-ever online OLY HouseTokyo 2020How are competition schedules changed during the Olympic Games?Tokyo 2020Mental health matters: helping athletes to stay mentally fitTokyo 2020 “Recovery Olympics” give hope to regions affected by the Great East Japan EarthquakeIOC and Coca-Cola celebrate unity in diversity through I Belong Here campaignThe IOC Refugee Olympic Team: a team powered by solidarity
Tokyo 202027 Jul 2021
Cutting-edge weather systems keep athletes safeLearn more
Tokyo 202026 Jul 2021
IOC, IPC and Visa announce fan-votes award celebrating Tokyo 2020’s most inspiring momentsLearn more
Tokyo 202026 Jul 2021
New IOC guidelines to ensure gender-equal, fair and inclusive representation in sport in TokyoLearn more
Tokyo 202025 Jul 2021
Tokyo 2020: a new blueprint for the Olympic competition schedule and the visibility of women’s sportLearn more
IOC News25 Jul 2021
New victory ceremony protocol agreed to allow temporary removal of masksLearn more
Tokyo 202025 Jul 2021
IOC Young Leaders at Tokyo 2020Learn more
Tokyo 202025 Jul 2021
IFs and NOCs strongly support fight against competition manipulation at Tokyo 2020Learn more
Tokyo 202025 Jul 2021
Fans in India will have unprecedented access to personalised Olympic content across multiple screensLearn more
Tokyo 202024 Jul 2021
Women athletes take centre stage at Tokyo 2020 Opening CeremonyLearn more
Tokyo 202024 Jul 2021
IOC President meets three European Heads of StateLearn more+
Press Releases
Go to Press Releases23 Jul 2021IOC President’s speech – Tokyo 2020 Opening CeremonyLearn more23 Jul 2021Global artists bring world together in “Imagine” moment during Tokyo 2020 Opening CeremonyLearn more23 Jul 2021The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Opening CeremonyLearn more23 Jul 2021Animated film inspired by Olympic values set for worldwide releaseLearn more21 Jul 2021IOC elects Brisbane 2032 as Olympic and Paralympic hostLearn more19 Jul 2021Athletes invited to show commitment to building a peaceful world through sport at Tokyo 2020 by signing the Olympic Truce MuralLearn more
International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic Committee
Explore
Beyond the Games
Media
More Olympic sites
Information
- Cookie Policy
- Cookie Settings
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- FAQs
- About us
- Contact us
© 2021 International Olympic Committee. All Rights Reserved.
ITV News Correspondent Juliet Bremner reports on the latest Olympics developments which come as a blow to athletes
This summer’s Tokyo Olympics will go ahead without spectators after a surge in Covid-19 cases, organisers have confirmed.
Japan’s Olympics minister said organisers agreed that fans should not be allowed to attend the games.
Seiko Hashimoto, president of this year’s Games, described the situation as “regrettable” and apologised to those who had bought tickets.
The announcement came after Japan placed Tokyo under a state of emergency that will last throughout the Olympics.
- North Korea says it will not participate in Tokyo Olympics over Covid fears
- Tokyo Olympics: Ugandan athlete who tested positive for Covid barred from entering Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the state of emergency would go into effect on Monday and last through until August 22, amid fears that an ongoing Covid-19 surge will multiply during the Games.
Only 15% of the Japanese population are fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
This means the Olympics, running between July 23 and August 8, will be held entirely under emergency measures.
The Paralympics runs from August 24 until September 5.
Mr Suga said the state of emergency was needed to “prevent the resurgence of the future spread of cases across the country”.
Its main focus is a request for bars, restaurants and karaoke parlours serving alcohol to close.
A ban on serving alcohol is a key step to tone down Olympic-related festivities and keep people from drinking and partying.
Tokyo residents are expected to face stay-home requests and to watch the Games on TV from home. The present state of emergency ends on Sunday.
Tokyo reported 920 new cases on Wednesday, up from 714 a week earlier.
It was the 18th straight day of week-on-week increases, and was the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.
Fans from abroad were banned months ago from attending the Olympics.
But just two weeks ago, organisers and the International Olympic Committee decided to allow venues to be filled to 50% of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10,000 and that has now been reduced to no fans.
While spectators will not be allowed, sponsors, media and administrators will likely still be allowed.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=ITVNews&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1412941604428656645&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fnews%2F2021-07-08%2Ftokyo-olympics-state-of-emergency-declared-raising-questions-over-spectators-as-covid-cases-rise&sessionId=54f94c3fe93b16b3fd8f5bbb4729a7b6ae906560&siteScreenName=ITVNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
“The infections are in their expansion phase and everyone in this country must firmly understand the seriousness of it,” Dr Shigeru Omi, a top Japanese government medical adviser, said.
Dr Omi, who has repeatedly called for a ban on spectators, has urged authorities to quickly take tough measures ahead of the Olympics, with summer holidays approaching.
Separately, a government Covid-19 advisory panel met on Wednesday and expressed concerns about the ongoing resurgence of the infections.
The Olympics are pushing ahead against most medical advice, partially because the postponement stalled the IOC’s income flow.15%
The proportion of the Japanese population who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19
It gets almost 75% of its income from selling broadcast rights, and estimates suggest it would lose between $3 billion and $4 billion (£2.2 billion to £2.9 billion) if the Olympics were cancelled.
Around 11,000 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympians are expected to enter Japan, with tens of thousands of officials, judges, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters and media also entering.
The IOC says more than 80% of residents of the Olympic Village will be vaccinated.
Nationwide, Japan has had about 810,000 cases and nearly 14,900 deaths.
Info-World-Hub 