Toyko Olympic Torch Relay begins today

Olympic fans from all over the world have been anxiously waiting for the return of the postponed Tokyo Olympic Summer Games. A press release from the Olympics headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland announced that the Olympic Torch Relay officially commenced today, Thursday, March 25th, starting at the Fukushima Prefecture where the Flame will thereafter embark on a tour within the Japanese territory, aiming to showcase the recovery of the areas worst affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and current Covid-19 situation to enable those from the affected areas who have worked hard in the reconstruction and recovery of their local communities to view the Flame, a symbol of hope. The relay will involve about 10,000 bearers over 121 days. The Flame will traverse all 47 Japanese prefectures before arriving in Tokyo in time for the Opening Ceremony of Tokyo 2020, on July 23rd.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Earlier today, the world watched with great enthusiasm how the Olympic flame began its journey around Japan. Congratulations to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the Japanese people for this achievement.”

The Olympic flame will serve as a symbol of the Olympic Games and will traverse the length and breadth of Japan for a period of 121 days. As 2021 will mark the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will aim to showcase the recovery of the areas worst affected by the disaster, in line with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay concept of “Hope Lights Our Way.” In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will additionally symbolize the light at the end of the current dark tunnel; a beacon of hope for the world in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Games, themselves a symbol of the resilience, unity, and solidarity of humankind.

Prior to the postponement of the Games, there were to be 3,000 public spectators, and a chorus of local children was scheduled to be among those performing. But with the possibility of crowds forming when virus infections have yet to be brought under control, events for the ceremony were drastically scaled back. As the relay proceeds, residents along the route will be allowed to view torch bearers running on public roads. They are urged to physically distance, wear masks and clap, not cheer.

The Relay's function is twofold: to herald the Olympic Games and to transmit a message of peace and friendship to the people along its route. Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Summer Olympics and has taken place prior to every Games since.

The lighting of the Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. It all started at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece, where a flame is ignited at the Temple of Hera in Olympia by the sun rays reflected off a cursed mirror, and then is kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. Pierre De Coubertin, father of the modern Olympics games made the following observation about the Olympic torch: “May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic Torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.

The Olympic torch relay continues to be a symbol of peace, friendship, tolerance, and hope.

Reed Markham was a member of the International Olympic Committee News Service