The Indianapolis 500 is set to host 135,000 spectators when it takes place next month, which will give the race the largest sporting attendance in the world since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers have confirmed the race will go ahead at 40 per cent capacity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which can seat more than 250,000 fans.
Spectators will be required to wear masks and adhere to social distancing while traditional standing enclosures around the circuit will remain closed.
The race, which is one of the highlights of the US sporting calendar, was postponed from its usual date on Memorial Weekend in May to August last year due to the pandemic and was held without fans for the first time in its 109-year history.
The record for the largest attendance since the start of the pandemic was set last month when 57,000 fans attended the T20 cricket international between India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Almost 52,000 fans attended an Australian Rules Football match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March, while in the US the Texas Rangers hosted the country’s first sports event without crowd restrictions when a sell-out 38,328 crowd watched the opening game of the Major League Baseball season.
Indianapolis recently allowed 8,000 fans to attend the final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
