Tokyo Olympics Reportedly Considering Alcohol Ban In Athletes Village

It’s no big secret that things can get a little crazy in the ‘Athletes Village’ during the Summer Olympics. But with the pandemic still a problem in host-city Tokyo, the Olympic organizers could be banning one of the main outlets for fun: Alcohol.

During an online meeting with the International Olympic Committee, Tokyo organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto suggested that an alcohol ban is on the table. Muto made it clear that while they cannot stop athletes from drinking in their own rooms, going outside to drink is something they are strongly considering banning.

“In the case that they were to drink inside their own rooms — this is equivalent to cases where we are drinking in our own home,” Muto said. “Can we prohibit that? That’s not conceivable. It would be very difficult to do so.”

Muto said that the Tokyo organizing committee will likely make their decision known by the end of June. The Summer Olympics formally open on July 23.

Obeying the rules on where to consume alcohol won’t be the only thing the thousands of Olympic athletes have to be mindful of this summer. On top of regular testing for COVID-19, the Olympics will be using GPS tracking to monitor their movements outside of the Athletes Village.

Muto has pledged that they won’t monitor all behavior, all the time. But he did make it clear that GPS will be used to verify activities in case something goes awry.

“We are not going to monitor at all times the behavior,” Muto said. “It’s not for that purpose. The thing is, though, if there should be issues pertaining to their activity, then, since the GPS function will be on, we’ll be able to verify their activities.”

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the months to come.

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