BEIJING, Feb. 1 (BNA): Organizers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics hope stadium capacities will reach at least 30% despite China implementing strict regulations to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. .
Winter Sports Extravaganza tickets starting on February 4th are not being sold to locals but instead the organizers are distributing them to ‘target’ groups of people.
They had already said in September that there would be no international spectators at the Games, while those who do get tickets will be required to take strict COVID-19 prevention measures before, during and after attending Olympic events.
“In terms of capacity, we’re not there yet, because it has to be set on a venue-by-place basis, but I would say if we have one in three places available or out of two,” said Christophe Dube, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director. It was a really good result.”
“It could also depend on whether it’s outdoors or indoors. But the great thing is that we’re going to have spectators.”
The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which was held last year after a 12-month delay following the outbreak of the pandemic, had no fans anywhere, severely affecting the atmosphere during the competitions.
Dube said that while international fans cannot travel to China, some foreign nationals living in Beijing will still get the chance to support athletes in their home country.
“This is not just for Chinese viewers but for Chinese residents, and we were very insistent on that,” Dube told the games website.
“So they also reach out to the expat community and make sure, through embassies, roads and other means, that those who live in Beijing are identified and can attend the Games.”
China, which has largely managed to curb domestic COVID-19 infections, is striving to prevent scattered outbreaks of the highly contagious variant Omicron from spreading as the busy Lunar New Year travel period begins.
The Olympics, to be held in the Chinese capital and neighboring Hebei Province, will be held in a “closed loop” that will keep athletes and other gaming personnel separate from the general public. Participants arrive on private aircraft and are tested daily during their stay.
On Tuesday, organizers said about 24 new cases of COVID-19 were detected among gaming-related individuals on Jan. 31, bringing the total in the past five days to 143.
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