Sports
No Booze, No Autographs As Tokyo 2020 Olympic Unveils Fan Rules
- Spectators will need to clear several antivirus requirements, including temperature checks and mask-wearing, just to get into venues
No alcohol, no hugs, no cheers and no autographs: Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers unveiled tough new rules for spectators at the pandemic Games on Wednesday, as they marked one month until the opening ceremony.
Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto warned festivities “will have to be suppressed” to keep the Games safe, and conceded that organisers will need to be “creative” to stoke a party atmosphere.
Games chiefs decided on Monday to allow up to 10,000 spectators into competition venues, but Hashimoto warned them not to expect the kind of festival mood currently being enjoyed by football fans at Euro 2020.
Read also: Euro 2020: England Tests Squad As Billy Gilmour Contracts COVID-19
“In Europe, the venues are filled with celebration,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we may not be able to do the same.”
AFP reports that spectators will need to clear several antivirus requirements, including temperature checks and mask-wearing, just to get into venues — with no refunds available for those who can’t.
Once inside, they are forbidden from cheering or “making direct contact with other spectators” and will be asked to go straight home after events end.
Asking athletes for autographs or “expressing verbal support” is also a no-no, as is waving a towel or “any form of cheering that could create a crowd”.
“The festive mood will have to be suppressed — that has become a major challenge,” Hashimoto told reporters.
“People can feel joy in their hearts, but they can’t be loud and they have to avoid crowds,” she added.
“Those are the areas where we need to be creative, and we are putting in a lot of effort to come up with a new way of celebrating.”
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Tokyo 2020 spectators will also have to do without alcohol, even though it is allowed at other sporting events currently being held in Japan.
Hashimoto said the ban was decided “to alleviate the concerns of the public as much as possible.”
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