The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is considering conducting another lottery to choose which ticket holders in Japan can attend the event, under the assumption that a cap will be set on the number of spectators allowed to prevent infections of the novel coronavirus, the Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Spectator capacity, to be determined in accordance with government guidelines, is expected to be decided around late March or early April, near the beginning of the Japanese professional baseball season.
"It may be difficult to have venues surpass 50% spectator capacity," said a Games official, citing the recently declared state of emergency. "In terms of profitability alone, filling the venues would be ideal."
At first, the committee considered offering refunds for all tickets sold then selling tickets again, once the venue capacity had been set.
However, with less than 200 days before the Games open, the committee has determined that a lottery for current ticket holders would be practical because the refund plan wouldn't meet the approaching deadline. So, the committee has set out to develop a lottery system for those who hadn't canceled their tickets.
About 4.45 million tickets for the Olympics have already been sold as well as 970,000 for the Paralympics. As a result of the Games' postponement, cancellations were accepted, but only 20% of ticketholders requested refunds.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
