TOKYO (JAPAN) – Tokyo Olympics organisers said the torch relay would start on March 25 from the J-Village training centre in Fukushima, according to plans. With this, they would be launching the build-up to the start of the Games in July.
The Grand Start ceremony and first section of the relay on day one will not be accessible to the public as organisers bring down the number of participants, in their bid to simplify the programme to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, they said in a statement on Monday.
The statement said that Tokyo 2020 “is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch relay by taking countermeasures to prevent the spread of any infections among spectators, torchbearers, staff, and other relay participants, as well as local residents.”
The torch relay has long been slated to start on March 25. That said, it is considered a major milestone after the Games were postponed last year.
Tokyo organisers have also said they are yet to decide before the start of the relay whether foreign spectators can be allowed into the country amid fears of a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
Tokyo 2020 also said on Monday that test events for skateboarding and shooting have been suspended until May because of the impact on scheduling from the COVID-19 situation.
Members of the Japanese women’s national soccer team will make use of the Olympic Flame to light the torch to officially begin the relay from J-Village.
The facility was selected as the beginning point of the 121-day relay because it symbolises Japan’s reconstruction following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Olympics will be conducted from July 23 to August 8 and the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.