Olympic Games torch ceremony downsized

TOKYO: Tokyo organisers are downsizing the arrival ceremony for the Olympic torch because of thespreadingcoronavirus.organising committee president Yoshiro Mori said Friday that 140 children will not be sent to Greece to give the flame a send off on March 19, a day before it is due to arrive in Japan. “It’s a gutwrenching decision not to be able to let them perform,” Mori said, speaking in Japanese.

The Olympic torch will be lit on March 12 in a ceremony in Greece and then flown to Japan. It is to land in Miyagi at a Japan Air Self-defense base in the northern part of the country.

Mori said the changes forced by the virus “make me feel even more strongly about not losing the fight”. “Of course we are worried,” he added. “But the government is doing its utmost to battle the situation, and scientists are fighting against the challenges. I believe in the power of human beings and the efforts from around the world. But that doesn’t mean will just wait and hope.” Mori referred obliquely to changes being made. The IOC says the 2020 Games will go on as planned, but others have speculated about postponing, canceling, moving events or changing cities, or even holding an Olympics without fans.

“The Tokyo Olympics should be held even if parts of it have to be modified,” Mori said. “But it does not mean we will scale it down.” The four-month torch relay around Japan begins on March 26 from Fukushima.

Meanwhile, the Olympic organisers have finally held a test event. They allowed a sport climbing event on Friday to go ahead, with a few restrictions: no fans and no top athletes. Instead they used amateurs to test the climbing facility.

Almost all sports events and large gatherings have been shut down in Japan.