Today, on 21 June, the five parties, namely the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Government of Japan (GoJ), met to discuss spectator limits for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The IOC and IPC were informed about and support the policies the three Japanese parties have decided on.
The main decisions are as follows:
In light of the government’s restrictions on public events, the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at “50 per cent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people” at all venues. (Students in the schools’ spectator programme and their supervisors will not be considered in these numbers, and will be treated separately as they are not spectators.)
The current competition schedule remains unchanged. In principle, spectators will be admitted to events subject to the above limits.
However, in the event that a state of emergency or other priority measures aimed at preventing infection are implemented at any time after 12 July 2021, restrictions on spectator numbers at the Games, including non-spectator competitions, will be based on the content of the state of emergency or other relevant measures in force at that time.
In the event of any rapid change in infection status and in the capacity of the medical care system, a five-party meeting will be held promptly to consider further measures.
The Japanese parties have formulated guidelines for spectators aimed at ensuring safe and secure environments. These stipulate that masks should be worn in venues at all times; speaking in a loud voice or shouting will be prohibited; congestion should be avoided by means of appropriate announcements; and visitors should leave venues in a staggered manner. Spectators will be requested to travel directly to venues and return home directly, and to take all necessary precautions when moving between prefectures.
Given the COVID-19 situation, the Japanese parties intend to look into either cancelling or reducing the scale of any live sites and public viewing events to minimise the movement of people, review any other Games-related events, and establish new safe and secure ways of cheering and supporting the athletes.
A framework will be implemented to keep monitoring the status of infections and medical care using expert advice.
Consistent and unified messages aimed at ensuring safe and secure Games by the five parties will be delivered.
The equivalent policies governing the Paralympic Games will be decided by 16 July 2021, a week before the opening of the Olympic Games.
In order to conduct safe and secure Games for the whole of Japan, there will be strong coordination and cooperation with local governments to ensure the above guidelines are followed.
The situation will be monitored in Japan and abroad, including the status of the different variants of the coronavirus, and all necessary action will be taken promptly. Vaccination of those involved with the Games will continue, and the vaccination status will be further updated.
There are 32 days to go until the Olympic Games. There are 64 days to go until the Paralympic Games. The five parties will continue to work together to ensure safe and secure Games for all.
