Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Grand Start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will take place at the J-Village National Training Center in Fukushima Prefecture on March 25. 

Due to COVID-19, the number of participants and performers at the event has been substantially curtailed and the program simplified.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Flame was actually lit just over a year ago at the Temple of Hera at the site of Ancient Olympia in Greece. It was handed over to Japan after the Greek leg of the relay and arrived in Japan on March 20 last year.  

Following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games, the Olympic Flame was kept alight in Japan and will reappear at theTorch Relay’s Grand Start in Fukushima.

During the ceremony, the Olympic Flame will be used by the Grand Start torchbearers – members of the “Nadeshiko Japan”women’s football team – to light the Torch, at which point the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will finally begin. 

 The Torch will travel from the National Training Center J-Village in Fukushima and traverse Japan for 121 days, taking in some of the areas affected by last year’s disaster that are still in the process of recovery. Organizers say they want to give hope and inspiration to people all over Japan.

 The Torch will complete its journey on July 23, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

 The Torch Relay can be followed on the internet by fans around the world at: https://tokyo2020.org/en/torch/.