The number of guests at the Tokyo Olympics will be reduced as will non-essential staff, the International Olympic Committee said Friday, mirroring the decision by Japan to ban overseas spectators from attending the summer showpiece. “The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has decided to grant accreditation only to people who have essential and operational roles at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the IOC said in a statement. “This will significantly reduce the number of accredited people at the Games. It will be implemented by reducing a number of programmes, including the IOC Guest Programme.”

The decision is a further consequence of staging the Games during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Tokyo Games should have been held in 2020 but were put back a year due to the spread of the coronavirus.

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They will be staged in the Japanese capital from July 23 until August 8.

Friday’s decision also affects the Paralympics which will also be held in Tokyo.