Tokyo Olympics Could Face Major Revenue Loss Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases and Banned Fan Attendance

"Prior to the pandemic, organizers had projected some $800 million in ticket revenue."

Claudette Montana Pattison | Jul 8, 2021

The Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators this year as coronavirus cases continue to rise Japan.

The announcement came after a state of emergency was declared by the Japanese government on Thursday as a precautionary measure to contain rising COVID-19 cases.

"The number of infected cases in the area including Tokyo has been increasing since the end of last month," said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga. "The number of severe cases and bed occupancy rate continues to be on the low level, but considering the impact of variants, we need to enhance countermeasures so that the infection will not spread nationwide."

According to Reuters, Japan’s Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Olympic organizers came to the agreement to hold the games without fans. These new measures will go into effect next week.

Prior to the ruling, the Games were allowed to fill venues to 50% capacity with crowds not exceeding 10,000. Now that those numbers have plummeted to zero, the Olympics likely face major losses in revenue.

According to Yahoo! News, "Prior to the pandemic, organizers had projected some $800 million in ticket revenue. The vast majority of that has now fallen by the wayside."

ESPN reports, "The Olympics are pushing ahead against most medical advice, partially because the postponement stalled the IOC's income flow. It gets almost 75% of its income from selling broadcast rights, and estimates suggest it would lose $3 billion to $4 billion if the Olympics were canceled."

"About 11,000 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympians are expected to enter Japan, with tens of thousands of officials, judges, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters, and media also entering. The IOC says more than 80% of resident of the Olympic Village will be vaccinated." [FoxNews]

USC has several athletes who will participate in the Olympic Games this year. The schools sends seven athletes alone from the Track & Field team.

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