Tokyo Olympic official tears up as he apologizes for canceling spectator's tickets amid COVID-19 surge in Japan
Yuichi Yamazaki/Pool Photo via Associated Press
- An organizer of the Tokyo Olympics teared up Friday as he apologized for spectators being barred from the games, Reuters reported.
- "I feel really sorry that we couldn't meet their expectations," Hidenori Suzuki said, choking up in the video.
- Organizers of the Olympics said on Thursday that they were banning spectators from the games amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.
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An organizer of the Tokyo Olympics teared up Friday as he apologized for spectators being barred from the games amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the Japanese capital.
"We have received great cooperation from many people before and for people who have been looking forward to the Tokyo 2020 Games," Hidenori Suzuki, the head of ticket sales for the games, said during a press briefing on the ticket cancellations, according to a Reuters video.
"I feel really sorry that we couldn't meet their expectations," Suzuki, who was wearing a white surgical mask, said as he got choked up.
-Reuters (@Reuters) July 9, 2021
Suzuki added, "For people who have been waiting to see the games for two years due to the postponement of the Olympics…I feel really sorry that we can no longer provide them this opportunity."
"We've done all we could to meet the expectations of those who had bought the tickets and I feel a deep sense of pain," he said.
Organizers of the Olympics said on Thursday that they were banning spectators from the games within Tokyo after the city declared a COVID-19 state of emergency.
The Olympics open on July 23.