BEIJING: A senior Olympics official said Tuesday that venues at the Beijing Winter Games could be up to 50 percent full, countering fears that Covid-19 would lead to a second consecutive Games without spectators.
Last year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics took place largely behind closed doors and Chinese organizers decided not to sell tickets for the Beijing Games because of fears about the virus.
But Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director at the International Olympic Committee, said he hoped venues in China would be filled to between 30 and 50 percent.
“In terms of capacity we are not there yet, because it has to be fine-tuned at a venue-by-venue basis, but I’d say if we have one person out of three (available spots) or out of two, that would already be a good result,” Dubi said in an interview on the official Beijing Games’ website.
“It could also depend on whether it is outdoors or indoors. But the great thing is that we are going to have spectators,” he added.
Dubi said the spectators would not be restricted to Chinese nationals — foreigners living in China have also been invited.
“We were very insistent on that,” he said. “So they are also reaching out to the expat community and making sure, through the embassies and other ways and means, to identify those who live in Beijing and could attend the Games.”
The Beijing Olympics are taking place in a highly policed “closed loop” with competitors, journalists and members of the Chinese workforce cut off from the local population and tested daily for Covid-19.
Beijing Olympics venues could be 50 percent full, official says
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Beijing Olympics venues could be 50 percent full, official says
- Dubi said the spectators would not be restricted to Chinese nationals, foreigners living in China have also been invited
LIV Golf to increase regular season field size to 57, adds third qualifying spot for LIV Golf Promotions
- LIV Golf Promotions will now reward the top three finishers with full-season wild card spots in the 2026 LIV Golf League
NEW YORK: LIV Golf on Tuesday announced it has increased its regular season field size and enhanced the qualifying opportunities for 2026 in the third edition of LIV Golf Promotions, set for Jan. 8–11 at the acclaimed Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida.
The four-day, 72-hole stroke play event presents one of the most dynamic entry points into the global golf ecosystem, offering spots in the 2026 LIV Golf League and The International Series, sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
Beginning this February, LIV Golf’s regular season field size will increase to 57 players, with 13 four-player teams and five wild card players competing throughout the League’s global schedule.
LIV Golf Promotions will now reward the top three finishers with full-season wild card spots in the 2026 LIV Golf League, an increase from the two spots previously announced.
The top 10 finishers, including ties, will earn full exemption into the 2026 International Series, the set of elevated events sanctioned by the Asian Tour. The move further enhances the pathways into LIV Golf from 2025 to 2026, with an increase in exemptions from one to two players through The International Series and an increase from one to three players through LIV Golf Promotions. The five qualifying players will compete independently as wild cards in 2026 with guaranteed spots in the League’s 13 regular season events.
“LIV Golf is committed to moving the sport forward by expanding opportunity and access,” said LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil. “We are opening pathways — creating more chances for top talent to compete in the world’s golf league. Adding another qualifying spot strengthens our field and adds excitement to a season built on opportunity, competition, and growth.”
The top three finishers in LIV Golf Promotions will enter the 2026 LIV Golf League alongside Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and Japan’s Yosuke Asaji, who sealed their spots as the top two players in the final rankings of the 2025 International Series, which concluded last month at the 2025 PIF Saudi International at Riyadh Golf Club.
