Olympics bans tourists and gives refund to 900,000 fans

AT least 900,000 tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics will be refunded after Tokyo organisers banned foreign fans from attending.

The Olympic committee said the unprecedented decision was inevitable as Japan scrambled to keep a cap on coronavirus infections.

“We have to ensure a safe and secure environment for all the participants. It was unavoidable,” said Seiko Hashimoto, the head of Tokyo 2020.

The 2020 Olympics will be the first without overseas spectators – even during the Spanish flu, international fans attended the Antwerp 1920 Games.

As this year’s event loomed, concerns had been raised about the risks posed by Japan’s leisurely approach to immunising its population.

It has one of the slowest vaccination programmes in the world, largely thanks to a deeply rooted vaccine scepticism.

Vaccinations per 100 people stand at just 0.4 per cent, compared with 41.3 per cent in the UK.

More than 75 per cent of the population said they were opposed to international fans attending the Olympics, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Thomas Bach, president of The International Olympic Committee, said they “fully respected and accepted” the move, but that he shares the “disappointment” of fans worldwide.

“I am truly sorry. We know that this is a great sacrifice for everybody,” he said.

The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled to take place last year. This year’s games had been predicted to be a celebration of “humanity’s triumph over the virus”.

Delaying the games cost a mighty $2.8 billion (£2 billion), with the committee contributing $650 million towards covering the total.

It helped push Tokyo’s budget to $15billion, potentially making them the most expensive summer Olympics in history.

The number of Japanese spectators allowed into the venues this summer is yet to be determined, but the torch relay, which kicks off next week, will be a solely televised event. An average of 3,000 British fans usually attend the summer Olympics.