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All Olympic Events Within Metropolitan Tokyo to be Held Without Spectators


The IOC, IPC, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Organizing Committee and the National Government held a top-level meeting at 20:00. on July 8 to discuss the issue of spectators at the Tokyo Olympics. It was learned that they have made the decision that all Olympic events within metropolitan Tokyo will be held without spectators. 

Following the announcement that a fourth state of emergency will be declared in Tokyo on July 12, the five parties agreed that barring spectators from all events within the city was the prudent move to take to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Multiple sources involved in the discussions confirmed the decision.

The issue of spectators at events held at venues outside of Tokyo will be discussed later in a meeting with the relevant local governments. In addition, a decision on the maximum attendance for Paralympic events, scheduled to be made by July 16, was bumped back until after the conclusion of the Olympics in order to better evaluate the situation with regard to the pandemic at that time.

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translated by Brett Larner

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