No alcohol, no hugs, no cheers and no autographs: Tokyo Olympic organisers unveiled tough new rules for spectators at the pandemic Games yesterday, 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.

“In Europe, the venues are filled with celebration,” she said. “Unfortunately, we may not be able to do the same.”

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.”

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.”

Up to 10,000 fans allowed in all venues

Up to 10,000 fans will be allowed at Tokyo Olympic events, organisers said Monday, warning competition could move behind closed doors if infections surge.

The decision ends months of speculation about whether spectators will be allowed at the pandemic-postponed Games.

Overseas fans were banned in March. “In light of the government’s restrictions on public events, the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50 percent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people in all venues,” organisers said in a statement.

A decision on spectators at the Paralympics will be delayed until July 16, a week before the Olympics open.

And officials left open the possibility of a reversal if the virus rebounds.

“If there should be major dramatic change in the infection situation, we may need to revisit this matter amongst ourselves and we may need to consider the option of having no spectators in the venues,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said.
Senior medical experts, including top advisors to the Government, have said that holding the

Games behind closed doors would be “ideal” from a health perspective.

They fear crowds of fans could fuel a new surge in infections in a country still racing to vaccinate its residents. The decision was announced after five-way talks between Tokyo 2020 organisers and officials from Japan’s Government, the Tokyo Government, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee.