It’s 30 days to the delayed Tokyo Olympics games. Despite earlier fears on whether the Games will take place or not, the opening ceremony will kick start on July 23rd. – 8th August according to the organisers.
Already postponed by a year due to Covid-19 pandemic, the games are expected to be held under strict Covid-19 measures with few fans allowed at the events, who will be tightly controlled.
International spectators will however not be allowed to enter Japan for the Olympics over public concerns about the coronavirus. As for spectators from Japan, organisers have put a cap of 50% of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people with controlled shouting in the arenas. The organisers have ruled that should the coronavirus situation worsens before or during the Games, they will not hesitate to hold the Olympics without any live audience.
The decision came at an online meeting between the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the games organising committee.
With the strict measures the Olympics, die-hard fans or spectators are left without a choice as the overseas fans are banned and will have to settle for watching from home.
Events will be broadcast live through television. Highlights and original Olympics content will be uploaded and streamed on various social media platforms, including YouTube and authorised mainstream channels. The youth are also not left out as they will be receiving highlights of the games from the vast social media platforms like Tik Tok, Snapchat and even Facebook.
The organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have released the final Version of the Event Playbook to ensure the basic collective game plan of all Olympic and Paralympic Games participants and the people of Tokyo and Japan are safe and healthy this summer.
The Playbook was developed jointly by the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. They are based on the extensive work of the All Partners Task Force, which also includes the World Health Organisation, Government of Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, independent experts and organisations from across the world.
The Playbook outlines safety measures, dos and don’ts, and other procedures athletes, officials and media must go through. The same way all countries have successfully controlled the outbreaks over the last one year, the National Olympic Committees from different countries are encouraged to keep track of their athletes by frequently screening and testing for covid-19.
The Athletes and staff must wear a mask all the times except when training, competing, eating and drinking or sleeping. They are also told to disinfect all equipment and their hands before and after use, and are banned from taking public transport unless it is the only option available to reach certain venues.
Meanwhile Olympics Kenya is also putting their house in order with athletes reporting at Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani for two weeks bubble camp before travelling to Kurume City, Japan on 5th July.
Testing of Athletes shall be done every 96 hours until the commencement of the Olympic Games to ensure that Kenyan athletes are safe and exposed to the rigours of Covid-19 control expected in Tokyo with All sports Federations expected to submit weekly returns of COVID-19 tests carried out on active athletes.
The Ministry, in conjunction with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and the Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) will also continue to educate and sensitive athletes on the playbook with daily activity logs submitted to the Ministry by the General Team Managers until the conclusion of the Games.
