Tokyo Olympics.Photo: Jinhee Lee/NurPhoto via Getty
Here’s what traditions have been tweaked for the Olympics this year.
No foreign spectators — families included
The government of Japan declared a state of emergency Thursday in Tokyo, as COVID-19 cases surge in the host city,Reuters reported.This fourth state of emergency will last until at least Aug. 22 – for the entirety of the Olympics, slated to run from July 23 to Aug. 8.
However, events held outside of Japan’s capital city maynotbe subject to the decision, which will be made at the discretion of local government leaders, the IOC clarified.
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Beneath the ban, athletes' families, including parents of minors (like those on the gymnastics teams) and competitors' children, will not be able to watch their loved ones participate.
“I haven’t been without my daughter for more than three days since she was born, given that she’s only 13 months old,” Team USA soccer star Alex Morgan toldPEOPLEbefore the breastfeeding exception was announced. “So it would be an incredibly difficult time as a new mom to be going to the Olympics without her.”
Alex Morgan with her daughter Charlie after the NWSL soccer match between the Orlando Pride and the NY/NJ Gotham FC on June 20, 2021, at Explorer Stadium in Orlando, Florida.Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Athletes who bring along nursing children will also get to “bring a caretaker or a partner to help them out,” the IOC toldToday, adding that there will be “private accommodation” arranged for these families, and that the children will not be allowed in the Olympic or Paralympic Village.
No shouting or cheering – but applause is okay
Inside, no one is allowed to ask athletes for autographs or wave towels, as “any form of cheering that could create a crowd” is forbidden.
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Commenting on the change, Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee acknowledged it might be difficult for those in attendance to curb their enthusiasm.
“The festive mood will have to be suppressed – that has become a major challenge,” Hashimoto said, per AFP. “People can feel joy in their hearts, but they can’t be loud.”
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“Those are the areas where we need to be creative, and we are putting in a lot of effort to come up with a new way of celebrating,” she added.
Once an event ends, anyone in attendance will be asked to leave immediately to avoid congregating.
No alcohol will be sold
Cheers ofanothertype are also banned: Those with a festive drink. Alcohol cannot be sold or consumed at Olympic events this year, officials announced on June 23. Hashimoto explained that the decision was made “to prevent expansion of infection,“The New York Timesreported.
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There will be strict health and safety regulations
Athletes will need to bring their A-game when it comes to heeding the official health rules at the Olympics amid the pandemic. According to the IOC’s most recenthealth and safety statementon planned protocol, all participants must be tested at least twice before flying to Tokyo – which is just the first of many rounds of testing.
“In principle, athletes and all those in close proximity with athletes will be tested daily to minimize the risk of undetected positive cases that could transmit the virus,” the IOC said in the April 28 statement, detailing that this testing will align with specific schedules of sporting events.
The last place anyone will likely want to be is the so-called Fever Clinic, a block of isolation rooms inside the village, where PCR tests will be distributed to anyone suspected of having COVID-19, theAPreports. Athletes and officials who are asymptomatic or have minor symptoms will be isolated outside of the high-density athletes' housing, and anyone seriously ill will be hospitalized.
Olympians must also wear masks inside the village, even if they are vaccinated. Ample signage on social distancing and personal hygiene will also be displayed throughout.
Condoms will be distributed at the end of the Olympics
The Olympic Village is notoriously a particularly fun place to be young and single, which is why organizers have provided plenty of condoms since the 1998 Summer Olympics in Seoul (when they were first handed out to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS). This year, condoms will still be provided in large quantities, but organizers emphasize that they are only meant to be usedafterthe games.
“The distribution of condoms is not to use in the village,” said Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the Olympic Village, per the outlet.
It’s the first time a pandemic has postponed the Olympics
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In fact, the Olympics were temporarily delayed and ultimately canceled three times in the 20th century – 1916, 1940 and 1944 – due to the World Wars.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer on NBC.
source: people.com
