Victoria’s Sports Minister has confirmed that the government will allow up to 30,000 fans to attend the Australian Open. This daily crowd capacity of 30,000 fans will split equally between day and night sessions. In addition, the government will permit this amount of fans only for the first eight days of the tournament.
From there, the Australian government will allow only 25,000 fans during the quarter-finals stage. The Australian Open is ready to start from 8 February till 21 February 2021.
Australian politician Martin Pakula also mentioned that the tournament would serve up to 390,000 people over the 14 days. This number of fans at Melbourne Park will be about 50% of the average in the last few years.
He also added that arenas like Rod Laver Arena would have an incredible atmosphere to offer. Moreover, this event with crowds would be very significant as the world hasn’t seen in many months. However, it’ll not be the same as in previous years.
Australian health officials allowed Many players such as Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and others to leave their hotels. Moreover, by Sunday, the health officials will release around 500 players from their hotels in Melbourne and Adelaide. All these players had to quarantine on their arrival due to the Australian government’s policy for COVID-19.
More than 1,700 players and staff members came into the country for this year’s Grand Slam. Most of these players were allowed to practice on court or outside exercise for five hours a day.
However, although all players followed the COVID-19 rules carefully, the potential risk posed by this tournament is still quite high. After enduring one of the largest lockdowns, local civilians have shared the same concern.
