The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organisers will roll out their “Playbook” next week, a detailed plan about how to hold the games during a pandemic. It will set down strict rules for thousands of athletes arriving in Japan, about being isolated in bubbles, and then leaving the country as soon as they finish competing.

Tokyo Olympic & Paralympic Games Organising Committee (TOGOC) President Yoshiro Mori, left, and CEO Toshiro Muto speak to the media after their video conference with IOC President Thomas Bach at the TOGOC headquarters in Tokyo Thursday, January 28, 2021. The IOC and organizers in Japan repeatedly insisted on Wednesday there is no Plan B for the Tokyo Games, which were already postponed by one year during the coronavirus pandemic. 

One of the biggest unanswered questions about the Tokyo Olympics deals with fans. Will there be any from abroad? And will fans of any sort be allowed in outdoor stadiums or smaller indoor arenas? “Naturally, we are looking into many different scenarios, so no spectators is one of the options,” organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori said Thursday after a video call with IOC President Thomas Bach.

 “We don’t want to hold the games without spectators, but in terms of simulations we are covering all the options.” The Nikkan Sports newspaper, without citing sources, said that organizers are expected to announce “soon” that fans from abroad will not be allowed to attend.

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