TOKYO (AP) – The Olympic flame is manifesting itself in Tokyo, a short walk from the new national stadium where it was intended to burn a month ago.
The flame came to Japan from Greece in March and has been largely hidden in Tokyo since the Olympic Games were postponed until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flame was unveiled Monday in a small rite with Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, and Yasuhiro Yamashita, chairman of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
The flame will be on display from Tuesday at the new Olympic Museum in Japan for at least the next two months. Visitors can enter the museum, which is located in front of the new stadium, only with reservation.
The revelation of the flame comes days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his intention to resign.
Abe toasted in Buenos Aires in 2013 when the IOC chose Tokyo, and was the focus of the final rite of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when he gave the impression of being a character in the Nintendo Super Mario game.
The fate of the Tokyo Olympics remains uncertain. The organizers and the International Olympic Committee say it will open on 23 July 2021. But they did not reveal major points on how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be in Tokyo.
Thousands of other staff members, technical officials and the media are also expected to contribute to Japan. The IOC says it needs enthusiasts at times, but has explained how it will happen or whether non-Japanese enthusiasts will be allowed.
Organizers are unlikely to start offering major points until the fall or next year, as the effect of the COVID-1 pandemic on the Olympic outlook becomes clearer.
A survey of nearly 13,000 Japanese companies this month showed that 53.6% were looking for games to be cancelled or postponed again. The IOC said that if the Olympic Games were not held in 2021, they would be cancelled. They can no longer be postponed.
A survey conducted in July found that two-thirds of the public also some other postponement or cancellation.
Tokyo organizers say they are officially spending a $12.6 bill to host the Olympics, a national audit committee says it’s double. In the load, according to local estimates, the invoice for the hold can load multiple invoices. The organizers and the IOC have not yet provided a detailed breakdown of the new costs.
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