Viewers Want to Know What Happened to the Fans at the Olympics Opening Ceremony
Fans and spectators will largely be absent from the Tokyo Games' Olympics opening ceremony, given a new state of emergency order issued by Japanese government officials.
The recent update to city regulations effectively bans local fans from attending nearly all sporting events and special ceremonies, in addition to the already outstanding ban on international travelers.
COVID-19 rates in Tokyo have steadily increased in July, with as many as 1,000 new daily cases for the majority of last week.
It's a moment that sports fans across the world have been waiting for with bated breath — alas, this year's Olympics opening ceremony is sure to look very different. While international viewers will tune in from home, the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies will take place without many spectators.
Not even locals living in Tokyo are expected to turn out for the event, as Japanese federal health officials and other city officials are enforcing a new state of emergency order that bans both international and local fans from attending most events in person. The new orders, which were issued earlier in the month, are attempting to quell the amount of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, especially among athletes traveling to the island nation. According to CNBC, daily rates for new cases in the city last week averaged 1,000+ for four consecutive days, an all-time high for the season.
While as many as 10,000 local fans were expected at each and every Olympic event in Tokyo, officials have pivoted to a spectator-free schedule in the wake of the new order, as reported by CNBC. Only a few of the country's prefectures, or state-like districts, will be hosting socially distanced fans at sporting events.
Are there any fans at the Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Unlike other sporting events that may be on your watchlist, there will be a select few spectators sitting in Tokyo's National Stadium.
Those invited to sit in the stadium largely include Olympic sponsors and their teams, officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international dignitaries. Included on the guest list is First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, a key figure amid the American delegation. Her trip to Tokyo marks the first international trip she's made in her presidential role, per the Wall Street Journal.
Other than that, the opening ceremony will go without parents, families, or close loved ones cheering on the competing athletes. That said, officials within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, in conjunction with corporate sponsors, are reportedly hosting a Team U.S.A. viewing party in Orlando for families and loved ones.
Olympic events are sure to look and feel different without the deafening roar of fans, but IOC officials are refusing to cancel the Games amid the ongoing pandemic. Reports place the overall cost of hosting this year's Olympics close to $4 billion, another reason why officials are mitigating complaints from the country's residents who are protesting this year's Games, per the Japan Times. Back in May, a public poll conducted in Japan suggested that as much as 80% of the public didn't support events like the Olympic opening ceremony from taking place at all.
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