The organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games have confirmed that events will take place for the most part behind closed doors due to continued rising levels of Covid infection across the country.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), and the Government of Japan held a four-party remote meeting yesterday to discuss the access of fans post the Olympic Games.

The statement issued after the meeting outlined that:

“In light of the current emergency declaration issued for Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, another declaration of the state of emergency being requested by Shizuoka prefecture and the current infection situation broadly, more stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be held in these prefectures, including having no spectators.”

“With regards to road events, the organisers request the general public to refrain from coming to the roadsides to watch the competitions.”

“With regard to the school programme, given that the Tokyo 2020 Games are very important in helping us realise a more inclusive society, safety measures will be taken in order to facilitate spectating in cases where local authorities or school administrations request this in response to the wishes of parents and others.”

“In the event of any major changes in the infection situation, we will immediately hold a further four-party meeting to address the issue.”

“We very much regret that this situation has impacted the Paralympic Games, following the Olympic Games, and we sincerely apologise to all ticket buyers who were looking forward to watching the Games at the venues. We hope that you understand that these measures are unavoidable and being implemented in order to prevent the spread of infection. Everyone is encouraged to watch the Games at home.”

In this sense, they will be held broadly on the same basis as the Olympics with few if any spectators at the venues.

There is some hope though in the final element which could allow for the presence of schoolchildren at some of the events in a deliberate bid to use the Games to encourage a better understanding of inclusion.

 

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