TOut sportsman, amateur or professional, will tell you, the galvanization of the public is essential. Thanks to an advance vaccination and the establishment of the health pass, this public should gradually reinvest the steps of sports arenas. But the organization of post-Covid competitions promises to be perilous for the federations which must work harder to keep the situation under health control.
The bill providing for the exit from the state of emergency was validated by the National Assembly in a second vote on May 12. Rejected at first deliberation, it includes the establishment of the controversial health pass: a major stake in the way out of the crisis and a return to normal life, this pass should be compulsory from June 9 to participate in events bringing together more of 1,000 people. At European level, the strategies of the member countries should be harmonized so that the organizing committees of sports competitions can comply with them and set up dedicated services.
Gauges and protocols
In France, Roland-Garros (May 24-June 13), one of the four tennis grand slam tournaments, will mark the return of the public to sports arenas. The opportunity to experience this health pass for the first time. Currently, the protocols are clear and the gauges predefined by government measures, but that does not prevent the teams from continuing to fine-tune the organization. “We are still working to have a customer journey that is as well organized as possible, and a communication campaign encourages the public to spread out their arrival times in order to avoid congestion at the various access doors”, specifies Amélie Oudéa- Castéra, general manager of the French Tennis Federation.
Avoiding congestion is the main objective, especially on June 9, which will see more spectators walking the aisles of the stadium. That day, the tonnage of 1,000 people per ERP (establishment open to the public) will drop to 5,000: Roland-Garros could thus accommodate 13,146 spectators against 5,388 the previous week. Spectators must present either the result of a negative PCR or antigen test of less than 48 hours, or a certificate of vaccination, or a certificate of remission (the result of a positive test of more than two weeks and less than six month). “This is when the teams will have to deal with the influx of people. If the agents, present in large numbers at the entrances, need help, they can rely on the Covid brigade, ”she explains. The members of this “brigade”, distinguished by colored vests, have been present on the stadium since the 2020 edition. They remind the public of the barrier gestures and allow compliance with current instructions. The players, for their part, will be subject to the “test, alert, protect” regime, which they know perfectly well since their return to competition.
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Across the Channel, the revival of activities is accelerating and the British are gradually returning to the stadiums after conclusive tests. In an interview granted this Tuesday, May 25 to the Anglo-Saxon daily Evenings Standard, Oliver Dowden, the British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, praised the merits of these experiments. Out of 58,000 people who attended a battery of test events (festivals, concerts and football matches), only 15 tested positive for Covid-19. Among the declared cases, none was recorded during a football match, the most recent of which, on May 18, during the final of the FA Cup, brought together 21,000 people.
This makes the FA, the English Football Federation, rather optimistic about the increase in the gauge for the two semi-finals and the final of Euro football, in June and July. In Wembley stadium where these meetings are scheduled, the original capacity is 90,000 people. Utopian to think that it will be full, but the sanitary pass and well-established protocols could allow a 50% filling, or 45,000 supporters. The FA has until the beginning of June to fix the number of spectators authorized during the final stages and to communicate the figures to UEFA (Union of European Football Associations).
Tokyo Olympics: an organization undermined
Already postponed last year to July 23, 2021, the Tokyo Olympics are facing many challenges, especially in the host country. Activists opposed to holding the event submitted to authorities on May 14 a petition entitled “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives,” signed by 353,000 Japanese. According to a poll published in the country on May 18, 43% of those questioned want the Games to be canceled and 40% want a further postponement. The same day, an association of doctors warned the authorities about the possible worsening of the epidemic at the time of the Games. “We believe that canceling an event that has the potential to increase the number of infections and deaths is the right choice,” they said in a statement.
Japan, until then rather spared by the epidemic, has recently witnessed an upsurge in Covid-19 cases, which has prompted the government to extend the state of emergency until May 31. Vaccination slows and only 1% of the population has received both doses. While Pfizer-BioNTech was, until last Friday, the only vaccine accepted, it will now be necessary to rely on Moderna and AstraZeneca. The Japanese government, initially reluctant, finally authorized them, but remains cautious about their possible adverse effects. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as for the organization of the Games, the task promises to be delicate. In order to deal with the reluctance, the decision to ban foreign spectators was taken on March 20, leaving the stands to the Japanese only. IOC President Thomas Bach, however, assured Wednesday that at least 75% of residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated.
In any case, according to Virgile Caillet, expert in sport media business and general delegate of union sport & cycle, two months before the traditional opening ceremony, a cancellation is no longer possible: “All the teams are formed and the nations are organized. Instead of a possible cancellation, one could imagine a closed session. The Olympic Games are a very important economic stake for sports federations. And after a year of sealing, spectators need to find the stadiums and the passion they provide. “
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After a blank year, some supporters have only one desire: to reinvest the stadiums. Images of jubilation are rare, the chants and cries of the public are no longer carried by loudspeakers and the morale of the players is at half mast. Romain, 19, an unconditional football and basketball fan, impatiently awaits this moment: “I am already yearning to be able to take part in this fervor. A game on TV doesn’t give the same emotions as it does in real life, that’s obvious. I watched a basketball game in the United States that brought together 15,000 people, and I got goosebumps just watching the fans roar. “
Others, however, feel a certain fear at the idea of meeting the stadium crowd. For fear of being contaminated, some of them want to confine themselves to screens to follow sporting events. Samuel, 27, has spent the best hours of his life in rugby stadiums. After a long Covid which still marks him physically, returning to the stands hardly excites him. “We sang, we shouted for almost two hours, it was a crazy atmosphere. Come to think of it, I had my biggest flus or tonsillitis after games. Even with a mask and respecting the distances, I would no longer be serene. I have suffered so much from the Covid that I no longer want to take any risks. “
After the summer sports season, two possibilities are possible. If no cluster is declared, the resumption of the calendar of the different leagues will be done with the public. If it turns out that the stands are places of contamination, then it will be necessary to rethink the gauges and the protocols, or even to deprive the stadium supporters again.
