BERLIN - Organisers of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics are expecting to welcome international spectators at next year's Olympics despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc with international sport timetables, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.
"We are working on the basis of course there will be international spectators (in Tokyo)," IOC boss Thomas Bach told a conference call at the end of an executive board meeting.
"What we do not know is if we can fill stadia to full capacity or if other measures would have to be applied."
He said the start of some Japanese sports leagues had been good.
In March, the Japanese government and the IOC postponed the Games until 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Good progress being made to deliver Games #Tokyo2020 fit for a post-corona world. Estimated USD 280 Million in costs savings from the operational budget will be achieved by the initial 50+ measures agreed at last CoCom. - IOC President Bach #IOCEB
— Christian Klaue (@ChKlaue) October 7, 2020
"We saw very encouraging start in some of the leagues in Japan in the past couple of weeks with a good number of spectators," Bach said.
"We have to see again with the additional tools at our disposal next year how we can fill the stadia and how much we can fill them."
Reuters