Tokyo 2020 is reportedly seeking to cut the number of officials attending the Games from abroad by a further 25,000 as the one month to go countdown approaches.

According to Kyodo News, Tokyo 2020 Games delivery officer Hidemasa Nakamura confirmed the Organising Committee's intention to further reduce the amount of people attending from overseas.

Cuts could reportedly be made to the number of "Olympic family" officials attending the Games.

Should the cut be achieved, it would reportedly bring the number of Games participants from abroad down to 53,000.

Organisers last month confirmed 78,000 people are expected to enter Japan for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This would include 59,000 people for the Olympics, compared to the expected 180,000 from last year.

The number will include 23,000 Games-related officials, including from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Federations.

Olympic Broadcast Services representatives and rightsholders account for 17,000 people during the Olympics, with 6,000 members of the media expected.

Around 19,000 people are expected for the Paralympic Games, including 9,000 officials, 4,000 for broadcast and 2,000 media.

Everyone coming from overseas will be required to abide with measures outlined in playbooks published by organisers, along with local officials.

The third and final versions of the playbooks, which outline coronavirus countermeasures, were published earlier this week.

These are aimed at reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the Games.

More than 80 per cent of athletes set to compete at the Games have either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or are "in the process" of being inoculated, according to the latest International Olympic Committee estimate.

Concerns remain over the potential impact of COVID-19 variants, particularly with Japan's vaccination programme still at an early stage despite recent boosts to the number of doses being administered.

Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert who sits on the Japanese Government coronavirus subcommittee, has reportedly warned over the potential impact of allowing domestic spectators to attend events.

The Japanese Government has confirmed plans to allow up to 10,000 fans at sporting events when state-of-emergency measures end on June 20.

The decision has raised the prospect of domestic spectators being present at Tokyo 2020.

A decision is expected to be made before the end of the month.

Source: https://www.insidethegames.biz