Overseas fans barred from Tokyo Olympics over virus fears | The Guardian Nigeria News

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[FILES] Olympic Rings are seen near the National Stadium, the main venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Overseas fans will be banned from this summer’s pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, organisers said Saturday, in a bid to reduce virus risks and convince a sceptical Japanese public the Games will be safe.

The unprecedented decision will make the Tokyo Games the first ever held without overseas spectators, as organisers scale back their ambitions for the pandemic event.

When the decision to postpone the Games was taken last year, officials said the delay would allow them to hold the event as “proof of humanity’s triumph over the virus.”

But instead, the Games are shaping up to be a largely television event for most of the world, with little of the international party atmosphere that usually characterises an Olympics.

In a statement issued after talks between local organisers, Japanese officials and Olympic and Paralympic…



Source: Guardian Newspaper