The organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced this Saturday that
there will be no public from abroad
in the competitions planned for this world sporting event.
The decision has been made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the Government of Japan.
Tickets to sporting events purchased by people living outside of Japan will be refunded, the Games organizers added in a statement.
Dates and modalities of the reimbursements will
be communicated shortly
, they affirmed.
[Tokyo Olympics committee chairman resigns over sexist comments amid doubts about how to hold them]
The outcome of this decision was planned for a long time, but until this Saturday there had still been no official announcement.
Those responsible for the organization of the Games explained that the risk of contagion was too great to admit spectators from other countries, an idea that Japanese public opinion strongly opposes.
[Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus]
Japanese public opinion
is largely in agreement
with the views of the authorities, according to recent polls.
It is estimated that around
one million tickets
have already been sold
to sports fans outside of Japan
.
The financial burden of lost ticket sales falls on Japan.
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The total official budget that Japan has allocated to these Games is $ 15.4 billion.
But various government audits
estimate that the true cost may be double
.
Of the general budget, only $ 6.7 billion comes from private capital.
Around
4.45 million tickets have
already been sold
to people living in Japan.
Organizers are expected to announce the capacity allowed at the facilities that will host sporting events next month.
With information from NBC News and The Associated Press.