Tokyo scraps Olympics public viewing sites

Tokyo will cancel all public Olympics viewing sites away from venues in an effort to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, left, speaks in a teleconference with Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto, right, at a carbon offset credit delivery ceremony this month. Picture: Pool/AFP

Tokyo will cancel all public Olympics viewing sites, though not venues, in an effort to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections, the city’s governor says.

Having postponed the Games for a year because of the pandemic, Japan has already banned overseas spectators — in an Olympics first — while reducing the number of participants, volunteers and guests.

However, officials are forging ahead with hosting the Games from July 23.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga this week. Picture: Pool/AFP

“We have decided to cancel these live viewing sites that gather people,” Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters on Saturday, after meeting Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

“On the other hand, we will make greater use of the web to create exciting atmospheres for the Games and to disseminate various cultural information,” she said.

The New National Stadium, the main arena for the Tokyo Olympics, this month. Picture: Getty Images

There had been six planned viewing sites, with televised Games coverage, across the Japanese capital. The announcement came as Ms Koike and Mr Suga prepare to meet Olympics and Paralympics officials Monday for a key consultation during which they are expected to finalise whether to allow domestic spectators inside Games venues.

Politicians and organisers are pushing for some spectators to be allowed. But Japan’s top infectious disease experts have urged them to consider holding the Games behind closed doors.

Masked passengers exit the platform area at a train station in Tokyo this week. Picture: AFP

Japan has had a comparatively small virus outbreak for its population, with just over 14,000 deaths despite avoiding harsh lockdowns.

The government has recently accelerated vaccination efforts, with just over 6 per cent of the population fully jabbed.

Ms Koike said the metropolis would turn some facilities that were marked for Olympics viewing events into vaccination centres.

Update: Up to 10,000 fans will be allowed at Tokyo Olympic events, organisers said on Monday, warning competition could move behind closed doors if infections surge.

The decision, just weeks before the opening ceremony, ends months of speculation about whether spectators will be allowed at the pandemic-postponed Games. Overseas fans were banned in March.

“In light of the government’s restrictions on public events, the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50 per cent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people in all venues,” organisers said in a statement.

This confirmed there was not yet any intention to ban all spectators from actual venues, as opposed to viewing sites such as parks for the public to gather.

AFP