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Tokyo 2020 organisers stated Tuesday they may press forward with a nationwide, socially distanced torch relay — 100 days earlier than the Olympic flame begins its coronavirus-delayed journey round Japan. Despite a current spike in infections, Games officers imagine the relay may be held safely — and in entrance of spectators — with round 10,000 runners carrying the torch round Japan’s 47 prefectures. The torch relay was postponed simply two days earlier than it was on account of start earlier this yr when the choice was taken to delay the Games by 12 months due to the pandemic.
Now it’ll begin on March 25, 2021, with Olympic officers to put out detailed anti-virus measures within the coming weeks.
“We want to make sure that everyone’s health is secure — the spectators, the torchbearers, the officials and the citizens in the local areas,” stated Tokyo Games Vice-Director General Yukihiko Nunomura.
“We want the runners to smile and we want the spectators to smile as they welcome the torch. We want to generate excitement so that people really feel that the Tokyo Olympics are coming.”
The announcement comes after a ballot launched earlier Tuesday by nationwide broadcaster NHK confirmed a majority of Japanese individuals oppose holding the Games subsequent yr, favouring one other delay or cancellation of the huge occasion.
Japan has seen a comparatively small Covid-19 outbreak total, however has been battling report numbers of recent circumstances in current weeks.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday suspended a controversial home tourism marketing campaign and urged residents to rethink New Year journey plans.
Guidelines on whether or not Olympic torchbearers might want to put on masks haven’t but been issued, however this month an interim report stated members shall be instructed to maintain their distance and chorus from speaking loudly.
Local celebrations
The Olympic flame, which had already arrived in Japan from Greece when the relay was postponed, is at the moment on show in Tokyo.
Starting within the Fukushima area — which was hit by nuclear catastrophe after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami — it’ll crisscross Japan earlier than arriving in Tokyo for the July 23 opening ceremony.
Organisers introduced some minor modifications to the relay route on Tuesday, however reaffirmed their dedication to visiting each a part of the nation.
“We hope that the power of the torch relay can be exposed to as big an audience as possible,” stated Nunomura.
“We also will be providing online opportunities for people to watch the torch go around Japan, and we will be sharing that with the entire world.”
Torchbearers who have been chosen for the unique relay shall be invited again subsequent yr, though Tokyo 2020 chiefs acknowledged not everybody shall be in a position to take action.
The relay will go to 859 municipalities round Japan, with an area celebration welcoming the flame to be held on the finish of every day.
Organisers introduced modifications to a number of celebration venues, with festivities set to be simplified in a bid to chop prices.
Promoted
The postponement of the Games has added not less than an additional $2.four billion to an already outsized funds, set final yr at round $13 billion.
The NHK ballot launched Tuesday reveals public sentiment has shifted little because the summer season, when surveys in Japan additionally discovered solely a minority backing plans to carry the Games subsequent yr, regardless of the approaching arrival of recent vaccines.
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