According to a Kyodo News Agency on the 9th, the number of athletes attending the opening ceremony may also be reduced as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a policy on the 7th as a coronavirus prevention measure for the Tokyo Olympic Games and limiting the number of days to stay in the Olympic Village.
The policy proposes that athletes can not enter the Olympic Village until five days before the start of each competition, so it may be difficult for athletes who play in the second half of track and field, wrestling and other events to participate in the opening ceremony.
The IOC also proposed a policy of strictly limiting the number of officials who can participate in the admission ceremony of the Olympic Games.
The waiting area for the entrance ceremony is more prone to crowd gathering. To ensure social distancing, there are ongoing discussions between the IOC and the OCOG on adjustment measures, including the number of people cut.
Olympic Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori stressed at a press conference in November that “if it will be evaluated differently than before, it is the entrance ceremony of the opening ceremony. Will be very careful” indicates that he hopes to use it as a symbol of promoting the simplified Olympic Games.
In the past, there have been precedents for officials to replace athletes, but Coates, chairman of the IOC Coordinating Committee, said that the Tokyo Olympic Games will not be allowed, and participating officials must abide by the “six-person” quota of each country and region.
There is also a view that it has nothing to do with the stay restrictions in the Olympic Village, and some athletes will voluntarily give up attending the admission ceremony considering the risk of infection.
