‘Regrettable’: Tokyo Olympics to be held without spectators

Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics agreed on Thursday to ban fans from the events under a COVID-19 state of emergency.
“We reached an agreement on no spectators at venues in Tokyo,” Japan’s Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said.
The widely expected move – which means the Games will happen mostly behind closed doors – was made following talks between the government, Tokyo organisers, and Olympic and paralympic representatives.
It was “regrettable” that the Games were going to be held in a limited format, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto told a briefing, adding her apologies to those who had bought tickets.
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said it was essential to prevent Tokyo, where the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant was spreading, from becoming the source of another wave of infections.

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