Olympic superfan who spent £30,000 on tickets ‘heartbroken’ at ban on spectators

Japanese Olympic superfan who spent £30,000 on tickets to the Games is “heartbroken” that spectators were banned.

Kazunori Takishima said it “breaks his heart” that spectators were banned from attending the games due to Covid.

Takishima has spent the past 15 years travelling to Olympic Games around the world to support Japan and has dreamt of seeing them in his home city of Tokyo. The 45-year-old would have broken the Guinness World Record for attendance at Olympic events had he been able to go.

He had bought 197 tickets to try to see as many events as possible during the Games, which opened today, July 23.

“What hurts the most is the time and passion I poured into securing these tickets, not the money,” he said to Sky News.

“And it breaks my heart that we cannot watch the Games live in person.”

He said: “I’ll be going to the Olympics until I die, so I’ll be breaking the record every time.”

Luckily, he will get a refund on the tickets he purchased.

“It just doesn’t feel like reality,” he said. “It’ll probably sink in when I hear the sound of the opening ceremony.”

Mr Takishima initially had no interest in sports when he saw his first Olympics in the winter of 2006.

Initially having no interest in sports, Takishima fell in love when he saw Japanese figure skater, Shizuka Arakawa, win a gold medal in person.

“The special energy that filled the stadium really had me and I fell in love,” he said.

“I’ve experienced the liveliness and the touching moments which can only be felt in person,” he said. “It’s not the same watching it on TV.

“Nothing is comparable to watching it live at the venue.”

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