Joint Statement by the IPC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the Government of Japan

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the Government of Japan held a four-party remote meeting today to discuss a policy for spectator numbers at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

At the five-party meeting held on 8 July, it was decided that the policy on the number of spectators for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games would be decided after closing of the Olympic Games as it was necessary to make decisions based on the infection situation. Hence the meeting held today.

At today’s meeting, the following explanation was given by the Japanese side. The IPC agreed with the Japanese policy. The details of the agreement are as follows.

In light of the current emergency declaration issued for Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, another declaration of the state of emergency being requested by Shizuoka prefecture and the current infection situation broadly, more stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be held in these prefectures, including having no spectators.

With regards to road events, the organisers request the general public to refrain from coming to the roadsides to watch the competitions.

With regard to the school programme, given that the Tokyo 2020 Games are very important in helping us realise a more inclusive society, safety measures will be taken in order to facilitate spectating in cases where local authorities or school administrations request this in response to the wishes of parents and others.

In the event of any major changes in the infection situation, we will immediately hold a further four-party meeting to address the issue.

We very much regret that this situation has impacted the Paralympic Games, following the Olympic Games, and we sincerely apologise to all ticket buyers who were looking forward to watching the Games at the venues. We hope that you understand that these measures are unavoidable and being implemented in order to prevent the spread of infection. Everyone is encouraged to watch the Games at home.

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