Foreign Fans Banned from Olympic Games
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Overseas fans will be barred from this year’s pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics because of continuing coronavirus concerns.
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.
“In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo 2020 organizing body said in a statement.
The IOC and IPC “fully respect and accept this conclusion”, the statement added.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed last year to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan has attributed about 8,800 deaths to COVID-19 and has controlled the virus better than most countries.
About one million tickets are reported to have been sold to fans from outside Japan while 4.45 million tickets were sold to Japan residents.
