For 125 years they have been an integral part of the world’s largest sports event, inspiring athletes to be faster, higher, stronger. But, for the first time in history, spectators have been barred from most Olympic events after a fourth state of emergency was declared in Tokyo. Organisers had been planning to allow up to 10,000 spectators at venues, despite fears it could lead to the Olympics becoming a super-spreader event. However on Thursday they were forced to perform a U-turn after a spike in cases of the Delta variant. The move is the latest blow to the troubled Games, delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and plagued by a series of setbacks, including massive budget overruns. Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, said the decision had been taken after Tokyo reported 920 new coronavirus infections, the highest number since May, and over fears the virus could spread as people arrived home for the summer holidays. However he promised the Olympics, which will start on 23 July, would show resilience in the face of adversity. “It will be an unusual way of staging the event amid a state of emergency,” Suga admitted. “But I want to show from Tokyo that the human race can overcome great difficulty through hard work and wisdom.” More than half of the 43 Olympic and Paralympic venues, including the 68,000-capacity National Stadium that is set to host the opening ceremony on 23 July, have barred spectators. However the Olympic minister, Tamayo Marukawa, said that some venues outside Tokyo would still allow fans up to 50% of capacity. They include Fukushima, which will stage baseball and softball, Miyagi, the venue for some football matches, and Shizuoka, where cycling will take place. She added that the policy for Paralympic events will be decided after the Olympics close on 8 August. The decision to bar fans from most events was greeted with sadness by one of Britain’s greatest Olympians, Katherine Grainger, who is travelling to Tokyo as part of a UK Sport delegation. Grainger, who won five rowing medals for Team GB between 2004 and 2016, admitted she had great sympathy for those about to compete on the biggest stage of their careers. “Instinctively, those of us who have been there and enjoyed those incredible crowds, especially at London 2012 and those home crowd experiences, feel a deep sense of loss for all the athletes who will now go and experience empty stadiums,” she said. However Grainger insisted that the empty stadiums would not affect athletes’ performances. “Every athlete I’ve spoken to is so keen to go out and compete,” she said “I spoke to people months ago who were saying: ‘Even if there was nobody there at all, we would still want to go and compete, because it’s the competition you train for’. “You’re an elite athlete going to give your best performance and you want to do it on the biggest platform on earth,” she added. “It will still have the media coverage, the stories will still be told.” Covid cases in Japan have been relatively low compared to many countries, with nearly 14,900 deaths. However only 15% of the population is fully vaccinated, compared with 47.4% in the US and more than 50% in Britain, leading to fears that the Delta variant could have a significant impact. The decision to ban spectators is supported by the Japanese public, with an Asahi newspaper poll showing 64% of those surveyed preferred to hold the Olympics without any spectators, while 30% said they wanted limited numbers. Around 11,000 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympians are expected to enter Japan, with tens of thousands of officials, judges, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters and other media also due to arrive in the coming days. That has caused growing nervousness in Tokyo, especially since weeks of quasi-emergency measures targeting the host city’s night-time economy have failed to prevent the latest wave of cases. The government will reimpose an unpopular ban on serving alcohol at bars and restaurants, which will also have to close early. The emergency declaration in Tokyo – the centre of Japan’s outbreak for much of the pandemic – is also an embarrassment for Suga, whose handling of the crisis saw his party perform badly in Tokyo metropolitan assembly elections last weekend. The International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who is self-isolating at his five-star hotel for three days, has also drawn criticism for insisting the Games will go ahead regardless of case numbers and pressure on medical services in Tokyo. In a statement the IOC said it supported the decision to bar fans “in the interest of safe and secure Games for everybody” – although it also expressed “deep regret” for the athletes and fans.