IOC hopes spectators can attend Beijing Games

The IOC official monitoring preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games says he hopes spectators from all over the world will be allowed to travel to China watch the next Olympics in person.

After much back and forth, fans, both local and foreign, were not allowed to physically attend the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, dampening the normal festive atmosphere typical in cities hosting the event.

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Instead, many Japanese and health experts are fearful that that the Olympic Games will serve as a ‘super-spreader’ event and increase virus cases in Japan even more.

Chinese officials organising the Winter Games have said health and safety of all those taking part has been a top concern and consideration as they enter the final stage of organising them.

Campaign groups have tried to brand the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as ‘Genocide Games’ citing allegations of human-rights abuses against minorities in China.

The coalition is led by activists from the Muslim minority Uyghur people and includes supporters of freedom for Tibet and the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.