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It remains undecided if spectators are allowed in Tokyo Olympics
CGTN
Olympic logo in Tokyo, Japan /CFP

Olympic logo in Tokyo, Japan /CFP

The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is unlikely to announce its decision over if domestic spectators will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Games before the end of June, reported the Associated Press (AP).

Overseas spectators have already been banned from the postponed Olympics and Paralympics due to the COVID-19 concerns.

The latest surge of coronavirus infections in Japan has finally slowed down in the past week. As a result, the state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures will end on June 20, if not extended again.

Nobuhiko Okabe, director general of the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, said he preferred few fans in the Games. "Thinking in a different way, I think it's an option to suggest to people to enjoy the games on TV – like teleworking," said Okabe at a panel organized by the organizing committee. "We could suggest a different way of enjoying the games."

General view of New National Stadium from outside in Tokyo, Japan, December 29, 2019. /CFP

General view of New National Stadium from outside in Tokyo, Japan, December 29, 2019. /CFP

According to Okabe, what really concerns him is spectator attendance in the venues and where they go after watching the competitions, like bars and restaurants. "We don't want people to move much. That's our wish as we think about anti-virus measures," added Okabe.

Ticket sales should make $800 million of the revenues for the Tokyo Games, according to AP. Considering that the official cost for the Games is $15.4 billion, $6.7 billion of which is public money, the last thing the organizing committee wants is to lose the ticket sale income.

Hidemasa Nakamura, the committee's games delivery officer, revealed that 70 percent of the tickets for events in Tokyo and neighboring Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures have been sold to local residents. The committee also said that tickets for 42 percent of the venues' capacity have been sold. If ticket holders all come to attend the competitions, there will be about 225,000 of them per day in Tokyo.

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