2020 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay was held from 12 March 2020 and ended on 23 July 2021. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch was handed over to the Olympic shooting Gold medallist Anna Korakaki, who became the relay originating Olympian woman of the 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay.[1] It was then transported to Athens on 19 March by official airliner Japan Airlines. The Japanese leg began in Fukushima,[2] and is scheduled to end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Olympics. It makes a tour of Japanese cities, including all 47 prefecture capitals.[3] The torch is even scheduled to go to two remote island groups which are part of Tokyo.[4] The end of the relay was the finale of the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 23 July 2021. Toyota, NTT, ENEOS, Nippon Life, JAL, ANA and Japan Post Holdings are the presenting partners of the relay, with the slogan being "Hope Lights Our Way".[5][6]
 | |
| Host city | Tokyo, Japan |
|---|---|
| Countries visited | Greece, Japan |
| Distance | 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi) |
| Theme | Hope Lights Our Way |
| Start date | 12 March 2020 (Greece) 25 March 2021 (Japan relay) |
| End date | 25 March 2020 (Japan) 23 July 2021 (Japan relay) |
The torch relay was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The planned relay leg through Greece was cancelled, and both the lighting ceremony in Olympia and the handover ceremony in Athens had no public attendance. The relay was suspended on 25 March 2020, a day before the Japanese relay was due to start, and the torch was moved to Tokyo for exhibition until the relay resumed as planned on 25 March 2021.[7][8]
Torches
The Olympic torch was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and unveiled 19 March 2019; the design is inspired by cherry blossoms, with 5 petal-shaped columns around the tip of the torch, and a rose-gold "sakura gold" color finish. Their construction will incorporate aluminum recycled from unused shelters deployed in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[9][10]
Route in Greece
The traditional lighting ceremony was held on 12 March 2020 at Olympia, Greece, and the torch was handed over to the first torchbearer, Anna Korakaki. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first lighting ceremony since 1984 to be held without spectators.[11] The handover ceremony was held at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on 19 March.[12] The torch was to visit 31 cities and 15 landmarks across Greece,[13][14][15] but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was cancelled.[16] On 13 March, a small ceremony was held in Sparta, the notable torchbearer was Scottish actor Gerard Butler, known for playing Leonidas in the movie 300 in commemorating with the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae.[17]
- 12 March 2020: Olympia, Amaliada, Pyrgos, Kyparissia, Kalamata
- 13 March 2020 (rest of the day cancelled): Sparta, Tripoli, Nafplio, Megara, Piraeus
- 14 March 2020 (cancelled): Kastellorizo, Agios Nikolaos, Rethymno, Chania
- 15 March 2020 (cancelled): Thermopylae, Volos, Thessaloniki, Chania
- 16 March 2020 (cancelled): Kavala, Alexandroupoli
- 17 March 2020 (cancelled): Amphipolis, Vergina, Meteora
- 18 March 2020 (cancelled): Marathon, Sounion, Athens
- 19 March 2020: Panathenaic Stadium
Special display
As the damage from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami mostly affected three prefectures, Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, a special torch display known as "Flame of Recovery" will be held in these three prefectures. The flame first arrived at Matsushima Air Field before being displayed at the locations below.[18]
- 20 March 2020: Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Recovery Memorial Park, Ishinomaki
- 21 March 2020: Sendai Station, Sendai
- 22 March 2020: Sanriku Railway and the SL Ginga Steam Locomotive Express (between Miyako, Kamaishi and Hanamaki Stations)
- 23 March 2020: Kyassen Ofunato, Ōfunato
- 24 March 2020: Fukushima Station, Fukushima
- 25 March 2020: Aquamarine Fukushima, Iwaki
After the postponement of the Summer Olympics to 2021, the torch display remained in Fukushima for at least a month before subsequently moved to Tokyo. The Olympic Flame would be later placed on display at Japan Olympic Museum from 1 September 2020 until 30 November 2020. The restart of the relay took place on 25 March 2021 for the rescheduled Olympics.[19]
Route in Japan
The original schedule of the torch relay in Japan was from 26 March to 24 July 2020. After the postponement of the Summer Olympics to 2021, all relays were delayed by 364 days (one day less than a full year to preserve the same days of the week). This change was not announced until 28 September 2020. The following table is taken from the original 2020 schedule:[20]
| Prefecture | Route | Map |
|---|---|---|
| Fukushima | 25 March 2021 (day 1): Naraha to Minamisoma 26 March 2021 (day 2): Sōma to Aizuwakamatsu |
|
| Tochigi | 28 March 2021 (day 4): Ashikaga to Nasukarasuyama 29 March 2021 (day 5): Nasu to Utsunomiya |
|
| Gunma | ||
| Nagano | 1 April 2021 (day 8): Karuizawa to Nagano |
|
| Gifu | 3 April 2021 (day 10): Nakatsugawa to Takayama 4 April 2021 (day 11): Gero to Gifu |
|
| Aichi | 5 April 2021 (day 12): Seto to Nagoya |
|
| Mie | ||
| Wakayama | 9 April 2021 (day 16): Shingū to Wakayama |
|
| Nara | 11 April 2021 (day 18): Gojō to Kashihara |
|
| Osaka | 13 April 2021 (day 20): Sakai to Suita |
|
| Tokushima | 15 April 2021 (day 22): Miyoshi to Naruto |
|
| Kagawa | 17 April 2021 (day 24): Utazu to Kan'onji 18 April 2021 (day 25): Sakaide to Takamatsu |
|
| Kōchi | ||
| Ehime | 21 April 2021 (day 28): Shikokuchūō to Matsuyama |
|
| Ōita | ||
| Miyazaki | ||
| Kagoshima |
28 April 2021 (day 35): Izumi to Ibusuki |
|
| 29–30 April 2021: Transport via ferry from Kyushu to Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands | ||
| Okinawa |
2 May 2021 (day 37): Tomigusuku to Itoman |
|
| 3–4 May 2021: Transport via ferry from Okinawa Island to Kyushu | ||
| Kumamoto | 5 May 2021 (day 38): Hitoyoshi to Yatsushiro |
|
| Nagasaki | 7 May 2021 (day 40): Minamishimabara to Nagasaki |
|
| Saga | ||
| Fukuoka | 11 May 2021 (day 44): Ōmuta to Fukuoka |
|
| Yamaguchi |
14 May 2021 (day 47): Ube to Hagi |
|
| Shimane | ||
| Hiroshima | ||
| Okayama | ||
| Tottori | 21 May 2021 (day 54): Sakaiminato to Kurayoshi |
|
| Hyōgo |
24 May 2021 (day 57): Kobe to Tamba-Sasayama |
|
| Kyoto | 25 May 2021 (day 58): Kyōtango to Kameoka |
|
| Shiga | ||
| Fukui | ||
| Ishikawa | 31 May 2021 (day 64): Kaga to Kanazawa |
|
| Toyama | ||
| Niigata | 4 June 2021 (day 68): Itoigawa to Minamiuonuma |
|
| Yamagata | 6 June 2021 (day 70): Nishikawa to Yamagata |
|
| Akita | ||
| Aomori | 10 June 2021 (day 74): Hirosaki to Aomori |
|
| 12 June 2021: Transport via ferry from Honshu to Hokkaido | ||
| Hokkaido | 13 June 2021 (day 76): Hakodate to Shiraoi |
|
| 15 June 2021: Transport via ferry from Hokkaido to Honshu | ||
| Iwate | 16 June 2021 (day 78): Shizukuishi to Kuji 17 June 2021 (day 79): Iwaizumi to Rikuzentakata 18 June 2021 (day 80): Ichinoseki to Morioka |
|
| Miyagi | 19 June 2021 (day 81): Kesennuma to Onagawa 20 June 2021 (day 82): Higashimatsushima to Rifu |
|
| 22 June 2021: Transport via land route from Tōhoku to southeastern part of Japan | ||
| Shizuoka |
24 June 2021 (day 85): Makinohara to Numazu |
|
| Yamanashi | 26 June 2021 (day 87): Nanbu to Kōfu 27 June 2021 (day 88): Fuefuki to Fujiyoshida |
|
| Kanagawa | ||
| Chiba | 1 July 2021 (day 92): Kisarazu to Sanmu |
|
| Ibaraki | 4 July 2021 (day 95): Kashima to Mito |
|
| Saitama | 6 July 2021 (day 97): Koga to Tokorozawa 7 July 2021 (day 98): Sōka to Kumagaya |
|
Tokyo metropolitan leg
- 9 July 2021 (day 100)
- 1. Setagaya
- 2. Komae
- 3. Inagi
- 4. Machida
- 10 July 2021 (day 101)
- 5. Tama
- 6. Hino
- 7. Akishima
- 8. Hachiōji
- 11 July 2021 (day 102)
- 9. Hinohara
- 10. Okutama
- 11. Hinode
- 12. Ōme
- 13. Mizuho
- 12 July 2021 (day 103)
- 14. Hamura
- 15. Akiruno
- 16. Fussa
- 17. Musashimurayama
- 18. Tachikawa
- 13 July 2021 (day 104)
- 19. Kunitachi
- 20. Kokubunji
- 21. Kodaira
- 22. Higashiyamato
- 23. Higashimurayama
- 14 July 2021 (day 105)
- 24. Kiyose
- 25. Higashikurume
- 26. Nishitōkyō
- 27. Koganei
- 28. Fuchū
- 15 July 2021 (day 106)
- 29. Chōfu
- 19 July 2021 (day 110)
- 48. Katsushika
- 49. Edogawa
- 50. Sumida
- 51. Arakawa
- 23 July 2021 (day 114)
- 62. Shinjuku
- 63. New National Stadium
Ceremony changes
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and several prefectures declared state of emergency amid COVID-19 surge, many of the public stages of the relay were truncated to be more ceremonial rather than functional such as alternative events.[21] Participants of the relay would carry the torch for about 30 meters before passing the flame to another participant rather than carrying it for long stretches.
For instance, the relay in Osaka prefecture was changed into a private relay without passing spectators at Expo Commemoration Park in Suita. The relay in Matsuyama, Ehime was cancelled and changed onto a private relay, while the rest of Ehime Prefecture still had their relays on public roads as planned. Later relays in prefectures affected by COVID-19 as the virus cases increased but changed into a ceremonial lighting ceremony onto the designated final destination.[22]
End of torch relay
In December 2018, organizers announced that, similar to what happened at the 2016 Summer Olympics, two cauldrons were built: one inside the Olympic Stadium and another on the waterfront, near the Dream Bridge. The function of the stadium cauldron was merely scenographic, to go according to what is established in the Olympic Charter. The Dream Bridge cauldron was placed where the flame will burn during the 16 days of the Games. It was lit right after the end of opening ceremony and will be extinguished a few moments before the closing ceremony starts, when the flame will return to the scenographic cauldron inside the stadium and will be burned for its last few moments. The decision to use a public cauldron came from the fact that it would not be possible to maintain the flame burning inside the stadium during the games.[23]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, the flame was transported to Japan National Stadium by judoka Tadahiro Nomura and wrestler Saori Yoshida, then the torch followed by the trio of baseball greats (Sadaharu Oh, Shigeo Nagashima and Hideki Matsui), until they passed to Hiroki Ohashi (大橋博樹 Ōhashi Hiroki) and Junko Kitagawa (北川順子 Kitagawa Junko), a doctor and a nurse helped to save lives during the pandemic as they carried the flame to Paralympian and wheelchair marathoner Wakako Tsuchida as passed to a group of students from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures who were born before the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami until they handed the torch to tennis player Naomi Osaka, who would go on to light the Olympic cauldron; during the Olympics, Osaka would compete for Japan in the women's tennis competition before being eliminated in the third round.[24][25]
References
- "Anna Korakaki chosen to be the first torchbearer of the Tokyo 2020 Torch relay - Olympic News". International Olympic Committee. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Osumi, Magdalena (12 July 2018). "Torch relay for 2020 Summer Games to start in Fukushima Prefecture". Retrieved 31 December 2018 – via Japan Times Online.
- "2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay to tour all 47 prefectures of Japan starting from Fukushima". Soranews24.com. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- Palmer, Dan (19 December 2018). "Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay to visit remote island groups". inside the games. insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- Palmer, Dan (30 November 2018). "Toyota become presenting partner of Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay". inside the game.
- Palmer, Dan (10 April 2018). "Tokyo 2020 unveil "Hope Lights Our Way" slogan for Torch Relay". inside the games.
- "Olympic torch relay through Greece cancelled due to coronavirus". usatoday.com. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- "Olympic flame to be exhibited in Fukushima, Tokyo". NHK News. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- Gillen, Nancy (4 January 2019). "Recycled aluminium from temporary housing in Fukushima to be used for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torches". insidethegames.biz.
- "Tokyo Paralympic Games get a cherry blossom torch with new color and braille text". The Japan Times Online. 25 March 2019. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- "Tokyo 2020 torch lit behind closed doors in ancient Olympia". Reuters. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "Olympic flame leaves for Japan amid coronavirus fears". Kyodo News. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Olympics: Tokyo Games flame to pass historic landmarks in Greece". Kyodo News. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- Kampouris, Nick (25 February 2020). "Tokyo 2020: Details of Olympic Flame Ceremonies in Greece Revealed". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- "Αρχισε το ταξίδι της Ολυμπιακής Φλόγας". hoc.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Olympic Committee. 12 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Olympic torch relay in Greece suspended due to virus fears". Kyodo News. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- El-Mahmoud, Sarah (13 March 2020). "Watch Gerard Butler Go Full On 300 In Sparta". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Olympics: Tokyo 2020 torch relay may include Fukushima reactor town". The Mainichi. mainichi.jp. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- "OLYMPIC FLAME DISPLAYED AT JAPAN OLYMPIC MUSEUM". International Olympic Committee. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- "Tokyo Olympic torch relay to start March 25 in Fukushima Prefecture". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- Niehaus, Andreas (2 January 2023). ""I want to bring this light to those in despair" – the Tokyo 2020 torch relay and the creation of Olympic legacies". Contemporary Japan. 35 (1): 75–93. doi:10.1080/18692729.2023.2169856. ISSN 1869-2729.
- "青森県内聖火リレー 10日スタート／初日は青森で代替セレモニー、2日目は4市町5区間" [Aomori Prefecture Torch Relay Starts on the 10th / Alternative Ceremony in Aomori on the First Day, 4 Municipalities and 5 Sections on the 2nd Day]. Tō-Ō Nippō (in Japanese). Yahoo! News Japan. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- Rowbottom, Mike (18 December 2018). "Tokyo 2020 confirms it will use Olympic flame cauldrons in stadium and on the waterfront". inside the games.
- Goldman, Tom (27 July 2021). "Japanese Tennis Star Naomi Osaka Bounced Out Of Tokyo Olympics". NPR. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- Futterman, Matthew (27 July 2021). "Naomi Osaka's Loss Gives Tokyo Its Latest Olympic Setback". New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
External links
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony Tokyo 2020 on YouTube |