France, March 20 -- Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday confirmed overseas spectators will not be permitted to attend the event as part of the Japanese government's attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speculation had been rife that fans travelling from abroad would not be welcomed into the country for the games which are scheduled to start on 23 July.

Around 900,000 tickets for the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics will be refunded.

The announcement came after a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Paralympic Committee, Tokyo metropolitan government, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and the Japanese government.

"The Covid-19 situation in Japan and many other countries a...