The Paralympics starting next week in Tokyo are the “most important” in their history as they will allow the voices of people with disabilities to be heard during the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the International Paralympic Committee said Thursday.
Emperor Naruhito will attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, the number of children watching the competition at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo is expected to reach a maximum of about 140,000 as of August 18th. Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, said:
“I strongly support the watching program that allows children to experience the Paralympics. At the same time, the school I think the most important thing is how to ensure the safety of the children who come to the Games.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will travel to Tokyo again to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony on August 24and ends on September 5.
Many people have voiced support for a decision made Monday to hold the Tokyo Paralympics with no live spectators in principle at all venues amid the rapid resurgence of the novel coronavirus in Japan.
The organisers said about 100 staff will provide repair and maintenance services at the centre as well as in booths at 14 competition venues. Services will include tyre replacements and welding repairs on wheelchairs.
The Tokyo Paralympics will be held without spectators at all venues due to an alarming rise in coronavirus infections in the host city and many other parts of Japan, officials familiar with the planning said Monday, about a week before the opening of the games.
Eight new infection cases related to the Tokyo Paralympics were reported Sunday, none of which were athletes, the organizers said.
The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to provide shuttle buses to ferry groups of schoolchildren to Tokyo Paralympics…By supplying an alternative to public transportation, the government aims to assuage concerns about the risk of infection with the novel coronavirus that have been raised by parents and municipalities over the school-viewing program planned for the Paralympic Games
Barrier Free Japan