Society

Tokyo 2020 organizers to issue ticket refunds due to delay

Jul 10 (Japan Times) - The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee will issue ticket refunds to people unable to attend the games due to their one-year postponement, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

Organizers have sold about 4.48 million tickets for the Olympics and roughly 970,000 for the Paralympics through the official ticketing website. The games are slated to open in Japan next July after being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In principle, tickets that have already been purchased are valid for next summer's games, but consideration will be given to spectators who are unable to attend as a result of the delay.

Also, sources confirmed Wednesday that organizers are on track to secure all the venues originally planned for use this summer, before the pandemic halted major sporting events across the world.

The first competition of the Olympics is expected to be softball in Fukushima Prefecture two days prior to the opening ceremony as originally planned.

The local organizers plan to make a report to the International Olympic Committee's general assembly on July 17.

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