No spectators at Olympics, hint IOC senior figures

The Tokyo Olympics are expected to go ahead as scheduled this summer – but organisers have finally conceded fans might not be present.

The International Olympic Committee had previously played down fears that the Games would take place behind closed doors, despite refunds being offered for the rearranged event.

But Thomas Bach, the IOC president, stepped back from promising crowds yesterday, saying organisers must be “flexible” amid Covid-19 surges and Dick Pound, the senior International Olympic Committee member, added to fresh uncertainty when he said: “The question is, is this a ‘must have’ or ‘nice to have’? It’s nice to have spectators. But it’s not a must have.”

The comments come after Sir Keith Mills, the former chief executive of London 2012, suggested it was “unlikely” that the Games would take place.

With the world in a race against time to get vaccinated, close to 80 per cent of Japanese people believe the Olympics, already postponed by a year, should be delayed again.

The IOC expects 6,000 athletes at the opening ceremony, down from an initial figure of about 11,000, it has been reported.