The first Live Site event where spectators can view an Olympic competition on a large outdoor screen was held in a municipality where a cycling competition took place on Saturday. In the village of Yamanakako, Yamanashi Prefecture, rules were established to deny entry to people living in areas where the coronavirus is spreading.
-- Measures against infection
Live Sites were initially planned to be staged in various locations, but most have been canceled to avoid the spread of the coronavirus due to people congregating. The events were scheduled to be hosted by the Games organizing committee, local governments of competition venues and other organizations.
According to the organizing committee, Lives Sites were to be held only during the cycling road races on Saturday and Sunday.
The road race course runs through the village of Yamanakako, which had envisioned setting up a Live Site that could accommodate 8,000 people as the competition coincides with the summer tourist season. However, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the village decided to cap the number of spectators at 2,000 and deny entry to people living in areas under a state of emergency or where emergency-level priority measures are in place.
"Even if people blame us for being discriminatory, we had no choice but to [impose measures] to protect the lives of residents," a village official said.
The venue for the Live Site was Yamanakako Communication Plaza Kirara for the men's road race held on Saturday. Staff members were busy from the morning checking driver's licenses and car license plates to confirm the location of residence of those who came to the site.
About 550 people showed up at the Live Site, far short of the upper limit.
"I wish there was a bit more excitement," said a care worker from Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. "But I'm glad [the Live Site] actually happened."
-- Roadside crowd
Hundreds of tourists crowded an area around the Doshi roadside rest area in Doshi, Yamanashi Prefecture, through which the road race ran. Doshi village government officials held signs asking people to refrain from watching the race along the road.
No coronavirus infections have been confirmed in Doshi since the start of the pandemic.
Spectators from other areas "would be more than welcome if there wasn't a pandemic, but I'm a bit scared if so many people from outside the village come here," said a Doshi resident.
-- Normal medal ceremony
The finish line of the road race was at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture. Spectators were allowed in the venue, making them the first people of this Olympics to see the moment when athletes win their medals.
The road race course was 244 kilometers long, stretching from Tokyo to Shizuoka Prefecture. At around 5:30 p.m., more than six hours after the start, Richard Carapaz, 28, of Ecuador appeared on the home stretch in the lead, and the spectators greeted him with their hands in the air.
The crowd groaned during the award ceremony when the athletes placed their medals around their own necks, instead of the regular practice in which a presenter puts the medal around the winners' necks. The change was made to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"I was happy to see up close the world's top athletes in Japan," a company employee from Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, who is a fan of cycling road race, said with a smile.
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