by Natsuko FUKUE / Andrew MCKIRDY Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — This summer’s virus-postponed Olympics could be held behind closed doors, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto told AFP on Friday, pledging to ensure the Games will be safe. Former Olympian Hashimoto said the Games could only be a success if organisers “completely protect” athletes and people in Japan, and that she is hopeful people will “be glad” the event went ahead. Overseas […]
Tag: Fans
‘Let’s go Kobe’: fans gather outside Staples Center
by Javier TOVAR LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Hundreds of fans gathered Sunday near the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles following the death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash that stunned the sports world and beyond. “This dude is everything to me man, it makes no sense,” said Bobby Jimenez, sobbing as he stood outside the venue where Bryant wowed fans for two decades. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and […]
Star Wars fans camp outside LA theater week before film opens
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Star Wars fans with sleeping bags and a portable movie projector have started camping outside Hollywood’s Chinese Theater, more than a week before the blockbuster begins playing. Roughly 20 sci-fi lovers were in place Thursday, seven days before doors swing open for the first preview screening of the much-hyped, saga-concluding “The Rise of Skywalker.” Organizers expect that number to swell to 150 in the coming days, with fans of […]
Argentine fans weep as World Cup dream fades
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — The party at the Buenos Aires fanzone fell flat as a crowd expecting a Messi-inspired Argentina World Cup revival could only watch in horror at as the nadir of Nizhny Novgorod unfolded. “We lost very badly, they really humiliated us this time,” said 22-year-old Joaquin. “And now, on top of that, we’re depending on Nigeria!” After the abject 3-0 loss to Croatia, the team will have to beat Nigeria in their […]





