Olympics 2021: Up to 10K fans will be allowed at both indoor and outdoor events

The Tokyo Olympics are almost exactly one month away, and now a final piece of how the Games will be held has been revealed. Organizers announced that fans will be allowed, but with multiple restrictions in place. All fans will be Japanese residents — a decision that was made months ago — but on Monday it was revealed that the number of fans is limited to 50% capacity, according to the Associated Press.

That is a maximum of 10,000 fans at events, regardless of whether the competition is taking place indoors or outdoors. Restrictions in place for fans who are able to attend include:

With the decision mostly made about fans, the Games are now officially all ready to take place on July 23, according to Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee. He referred to this latest Olympics update about fan capacity as “the last piece for the Olympics” to occur, according to the AP.

Hashimoto is still not dismissing an Olympics without fans, though, saying if the situation gets more severe they could change their plan. 

“We need to be very flexible. If there is any abrupt change in the situation, we will hold five-party meetings again to make other decisions,” Hashimoto said. “If there is an announcement of a state of emergency during the Games, all the options like no-spectator games will be examined.”

The fan restrictions mean some Japanese residents who already had tickets will not be allowed at the game and must give back their ticket. As a result, the $800 million expected from ticket revenue will now be about half of the number.

Not everyone is one board with the new rules. Dr. Shigeru Omi, the country’s top medical adviser, said the safest way to hold the Olympics would be without fans, the AP reported.