Olympic flame from display in Japan
The Olympic flame is certainly going on display in Tokyo, not definately not the brand new National Stadium where it had been supposed to be burning a month ago.
The flame arrived in Japan from Greece in March and has been largely hidden away in Tokyo after the Olympics were postponed until next year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The flame was unveiled on Monday at a tiny ceremony with Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee, and Yasuhiro Yamashita, the president of japan Olympic Committee, reports AP.
It'll be on display beginning Tuesday at the brand new Japan Olympic Museum for at least the next two months. Visitors can only enter the museum, located next door from the new stadium, with a reservation.
The flame's unveiling comes just days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his plans to resign. He was on hand in 2013 in Buenos Aires when the IOC picked Tokyo, and he was the highlight of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when he appeared as Nintendo game character Super Mario.
The fate of the Tokyo Olympics remains uncertain as a result of the pandemic.
Organisers and the International Olympic Committee say it will open on July 23 next year. However they have not revealed any details about how precisely 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be safe in Tokyo.
A large number of other staff, technical officials and media would also have to enter Japan to cover the event. The IOC says it wants fans at events but hasn't explained how this may happen, or if non-Japanese fans will be allowed.
Organisers are unlikely to begin providing details until the fall, or into next year as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Olympic prospects becomes clearer.
A poll this month of almost 13,000 Japanese companies showed 53.6 percent want the games canceled or postponed again. The IOC has said if the Olympics can’t happen in 2021, they'll be canceled. They can not be postponed again.
A poll in July discovered that two-thirds of the general public also favours another postponement or cancellation.
Tokyo organisers say they are officially spending $12.6 billion to carry the Olympics, although a national audit board says it’s twice that much. Furthermore, local estimates say the bill for the delay could add on several billion more. Organisers and the IOC have yet to give a detailed break down of the new costs.
