Nowadays, it looks like a revolution. 25,000 to 30,000 spectators will be able to attend the Australian Open tennis tournament daily, which is due to take place from February 8, organizers said, Saturday January 30, a very high figure as the Covid-19 pandemic still imposes closed doors at many sporting events.
Australia’s tough travel restrictions in recent months have kept the island in control of the outbreak, making it one of the few places in the world where supporters can visit in large numbers. at sporting events.
This represents some 390,000 spectators in the space of two weeks, or half of the audience received last year, said Victoria’s sports minister, Martin Pakula. The matches of the first eight days can be seen by 30,000 people. Then the gauge will drop to 25,000 from the quarterfinals.
Quarantine for all participants
Mr. Pakula said he hoped at the end of the tournament “An incredible atmosphere, not so different from that seen on all the opens in recent years”. “It won’t be like the last few years, but it will be the most important international event with an audience that the world has seen in many months”, he noted.
Victoria has not registered a new local case of Covid for twenty-four days and all players who arrived in Australia to participate in the tournament have completed a mandatory fourteen days of quarantine.
Eight positive cases were detected among the more than 1,000 people (players, coaches or officials) who arrived on board 17 charter flights to participate in the Open. “We hope to have shown the method and the example to the rest of the world on the possibility of doing that”, noted tournament chief Craig Tiley, while acknowledging that it had been a huge logistical challenge.
Our selection of articles on Covid-19
