The 2020 Summer Olympic Torch Relay is finally here In progress. The Olympic flame, which was alight in Olympia, Greece on March 12, 2020, and transported to Japan on March 20, 2020, spent a year at the Olympic Museum in Tokyo after the end of the Games postponed because of the coronavirus. He began his 121-day journey from Fukushima to the National Stadium in Tokyo – the location for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies — March 25, 2021.
“Inspired by the Olympic values of peace and solidarity, the Olympic Torch Relay will carry the Tokyo 2020 message, ‘Hope Lights Our Way’, across Japan and the world,” said the International Committee Chairman. Olympic, Thomas Bach. “It also goes acknowledge the challenges the company has been facing since last year, highlighting the importance of unity and solidarity within humanity, showing that we can only grow stronger – together.”
After a short opening ceremony, Japanese footballer Iwashimizu Azusa, surrounded by other members of the winning team of the 2011 World Cup, proudly carried the torch of the J-Village indoor football training center for the first leg of the relay. Runners were greeted with enthusiastic applause from the small group of people who are socially distant and wearing masks spectatorswho had lined up along the streets to witness the historical live opportunity.
“At first, I didn’t think much about it,” said 20-year-old Takumu Kimura. NBC News. “But when I saw it, I had the impression: – yes, it’s the Olympics.”
In the coming months, 10,000 torchbearers, each chosen for their ability to overcome adversity – will take turns leading the Olympic flame to the National Stadium for the Opening Ceremony on July 23, 2021. The carefully plotted route will be snake across all of the country’s 47 prefectures to ensure that the torch passes within a short distance of a majority residents of Japan.
The Olympic torch, which was inspired speak sacred fire maintained throughout the ancient games, made its modern era start at the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The ritual was repeated at the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles, California. However, instead of placing the flame on a tower overlooking the stadium, as had been the case in Amsterdam, the lit torch was placed above the entrance to the sports venue.
In the months leading up to the 1936 Games of the XI Olympiad in Berlin, Germany, officials decided to up the ante by taking the flame-lighting ceremony back to its roots in Olympia, Greece. To ensure the flame purityit was inflamed by channeling the sun’s rays through a parabolic mirror – a ritual observed to date.
The now much-loved Olympic Torch Relay was also introduced at these games by the Organizing Committee’s Secretary General, Carl Diem. It was inspired by the torch races of ancient Greece. Over the years, the torch relay has become a means for host country to showcase its natural beauty to the millions of people who watch the Olympic Games around the world and to attract more tourists.
Resources: jrailpass.com, nbc.com, insidethegames.biz, olympic.org
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