The Australian state of Victoria said on Saturday about 30,000 fans would be allowed for the first eight days of the upcoming Australian Open while 25,000 people would be allowed for the last six days.
For the first eight days of the 2021 Australian Open, 30,000 per day is across both day and night sessions while the crowd capacity for the last six days is 25,000 per day, which means 12,500 for the day and night session separately, Victoria Minister for Sport Martin Pakula announced at a press conference on Saturday.
Instead of the record-high number of more than 810,000 fans in attendance in 2020, this year's tournament will only have up to 390,000 people for the two weeks, about 50 percent of the average over the past three years.
Melbourne Park will be split up into three zones with particular tickets instead of ground passes to ensure the health and safety of spectators and players.
"These arrangements have gone through exactly the same process as every other public event that has been approved," he said.
"I think a couple of months ago, it would have been quite possible that the Australian Open could have gone ahead with no or very small crowds but we've gained confidence through the Boxing Day Test with up to 30,000 a day and that's allowed us to have a great deal of confidence about those systems and those processes as we come into the Australian Open," Pakula said.
On Saturday, Victoria recorded zero locally acquired cases, the 24th consecutive day for the state without local cases.
Source: XINHUANET
