Japan says the 2021 Olympics Games in Tokyo could be canceled if fans will not be allowed into venues due to the coronavirus pandemic, but is considering the possibility of admitting only Japanese spectators.
The Tokyo Olympics could be canceled if the coronavirus situation does not improve by summer 2021, with the new date for the Games being from July 23 to August 8 next year, after the pandemic put paid to original plans for the Games to be held in 2020.
“Holding The Games without an audience? If there is no other way out, we will need to discuss it. In this case, the question about the cancellation of Games might come up,” Organizing Committee head and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said, AFP reported.
“If we hold the Olympics with a limited number of spectators, these measures must be justified.”
One of the proposals is to allow only local spectators from Japan. According to the survey, 70 percent of Japanese people want to cancel or postpone the Games for another year; only 23 percent would like the competition to be held on schedule.
IOC head Thomas Bach recently said the organisation was “fully committed” to staging the Games in Tokyo next year despite the setbacks, saying that any decision would be made upon advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
