Tag Tokyo 2020Coronavirus

Flame
Athens, March 19, 2020  (Reuters/NAN) Tokyo 2020 organisers received the Olympic flame in a scaled-down hand-over ceremony in Athens on Thursday, amid the coronavirus spread that has cast doubt on the global, multi-billion dollar event.

In a brief ceremony closed to spectators in Athens’ Panathenaic stadium, site of the first modern Games in 1896, the torch was received by Tokyo Games representative Naoko Imoto.

It will arrive in Japan on Friday and kick off a domestic relay on March 26, with the Games set to take place from July 24 to Aug. 9.

The scale of the spreading coronavirus, which has infected more than 200,000 people and killed more than 8,700 across the world, has forced the cancellation of numerous sporting events.

This has raised concerns about whether the Olympics will be able to open as planned.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government, however, have insisted the Games will go ahead.

Greece’s Olympic Committee chief Spyros Capralos handed over the lit torch to the Japanese former Olympic swimmer Imoto in front of empty stands inside the vast 50,000-capacity horseshoe-shaped marble stadium.

The flame was then transferred into a small receptacle to travel to Japan aboard a special aircraft named “Tokyo 2020 Go.”

Only a few dozen officials were allowed into the central Athens stadium as the country has imposed strict measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori said in a video message he hoped the flame’s arrival would help “shake off the dark clouds hanging over the world.”

The plane will land at JASDF Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture on Friday before the start of a domestic relay from Fukushima Prefecture, site of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Precaution
Tokyo, March 6, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Some 340 Japanese children will be unable to participate in the Olympics torch ceremonies for the hand-over in Greece and arrival in Japan, Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori said on Friday.

This was due to precautions being taken against the spread of the coronavirus.

Mori, a former prime minister who heads the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, again rebuffed speculation that the Games might be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Impossible,” Mori told reporters who asked about the potential cancellation.

On Wednesday, when he was asked when the organisers could decide on any changes to the Olympics if the virus kept spreading he said: “I’m not a God. So, I don’t know.”

Mori has said that the only plan right now was to hold the Games as scheduled.

But he emphasised that the organisers were listening to various opinions and would be flexible about the events in the run-up because the situation was evolving rapidly.

The number of coronavirus cases in Japan stood at 1,057 as of Friday morning.

The virus has killed 12 people in Japan and more than 3,000 globally since late last year.

The Olympic torch will be lit in Olympia at a scaled-down ceremony on Thursday before a seven-day relay that will culminate with a hand-over ceremony in Greece on March 19.

About 140 Japanese children had been slated to attend.

Around 200 more were to have participated in the arrival ceremony in Japan on March 20.

“The children practised very hard for the ceremonies. So, we’re very sorry about that. We’ll try to make it up to them during the Games,” said Mori.

Runners and staff involved in the relay carrying the torch after its arrival in Japan will have their temperature and health monitored.

The number of people attending events could also be restricted, the organisers said.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)