Tokyo Olympics: Fans may face cheering ban
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Fans may not be allowed to cheer and shout at the Tokyo Olympics next year, a top official said on Thursday. This ban on cheering has been imposed to avoid the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.
The comments follow the four-nation gymnastics meet held in Tokyo on Sunday. The mask-wearing fans were urged to not shout or cheer. They had been confined to polite applause and murmurs of approval.
“There’s a possibility that we might ask the (Olympic) spectators to refrain from shouting or talking in a loud voice,” Tokyo 2020 chief executive, Toshiro Muto, said after a committee meeting. The officials are considering the aspect of cheering in terms of the spread of the dreaded virus. The Tokyo Games were originally going to take place in 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we think of the impact, we believe it is an item for consideration, to reduce the risk of airborne droplets,” Muto said. However, Muto added that the “practicality and feasibility” of clamping down on cheering needed to be considered.
Sporting events around the world had stopped earlier this year due to the pandemic. They have resumed now but are happening behind closed doors. Fans are allowed to watch sports matches in Japan, usually in limited numbers. But they are asked to not cheer or shout. International Olympic Committee (IOC) head, Thomas Bach will visit Japan next week. This will be his first visit to the country after the postponement of the Games.
On Wednesday, Bach said he was increasingly confident that a “reasonable number” of fans will be allowed to watch the coveted Games.
He said that the athletes’ and officials’ movement will be heavily restricted after arrival, the same rule can’t be applied to all the fans.
Tokyo Olympics: Quarantine for foreign fans “unrealistic”
“As the number of foreign spectators is so high, 14 days of quarantine and a ban on public transport use is unrealistic,” Bach said after a committee meeting.
Instead, “pre-visit tests and health monitoring, careful screening at the border, post-entry checks on activities and health, (and) taking swift measures if symptoms appear” are among the measures being considered.
The cases worldwide are increasing again. However, the outlook for the much-awaited Games seems to be brightening. Tokyo has already begun with the test-events. They included a near-capacity baseball game and Sunday’s four-nation gymnastics meet. Both of the events were held in tightly controlled bio-secure conditions.
At the gymnastics competition, around 2,000 fans in face masks remained socially distanced at an 8,700-capacity Olympic venue. They were encouraged to not shout or cheer. Bach said the events were a positive sign.
“Having seen the different tests in Japan, we can become more and more confident that we will have a reasonable number of spectators also in Olympic venues,” he said after an IOC executive board meeting.
“How many and under which conditions, it will… very much depend on future developments,” he added.
Japan is currently on a strict ban on practically all in-bound foreign tourism. Muto said any cap on the number of spectators, or rules for visiting crowds, would be decided in the spring.
Also Read: Tokyo holds gymnastics meet to show 2021 Olympics can pass COVID-19 challenges
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