Here are some key facts and figures related to the Olympic Torch Relay in Japan:
9.653
kilometers
The flame was lit by the rays of the sun on March 12, 2020 near the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, which is over 9,600 kilometers from the Tokyo National Stadium where it will arrive before the Games open on the 23rd. July.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed shortly after the flame was sent to Japan, where it remained lit for the past year.
After the postponement, she was briefly exposed in northeastern Japan but, in the face of increasing Covid-19 cases, she was transported to a secret location.
She then reappeared for two months at the Olympic Museum, a stone's throw from the stadium.
121
days
After departing from Fukushima in the northeast, the Olympic flame will travel through Japan for about four months, or 121 days in total.
The department of Fukushima and the Tohoku region where it is located were chosen as the starting point to highlight the reconstruction ten years after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011. The public will not be allowed to visit. attend the relay departure ceremony on Thursday to limit the risk of infection.
Simplified festivities will be broadcast live on television and on the Internet.
47
departments
During its journey, the flame will cross the 47 departments of Japan, from the northern island of Hokkaido to the Kagoshima region in the southwest, with a detour through the islands of Okinawa.
It will take a winding route, heading first to the southwest, then up to the northern regions before heading to the capital Tokyo.
The flame will spend approximately two days in each department with, each day, a ceremony during which the last bearer will transfer the flame to a larger Olympic basin.
10,000
carriers
More than half a million people applied in 2019 to carry the Olympic flame.
The organizers reduced that number to around 10,000 carriers, ranging from Japanese sports champions to a girl whose grandfather had competed in the torch relay during the last edition of the Games in Tokyo in 1964. But several personalities withdrew. the event, with some citing "timing issues" and others openly worrying about the organization of OJ during the pandemic.
200
kilograms
Each day, the flame will be placed in a “celebration bowl” weighing around 200 kilograms and 1.5 meters high.
The top of this pink gold case is shaped like a cherry blossom, like the flames used during the relay.
It is made of 30% recycled aluminum, coming from temporary accommodation built after the disaster of 2011.
0
cheer
Residents will be allowed to witness the passage of the flame, but will have to wear masks, avoid crowds and only attend the relay segments close to their homes.
Cheering will be prohibited to prevent the spread of the virus.
Spectators will be asked to “support with applause or using distributed objects” beforehand.
The organizers have warned that segments of the relay could be removed if they cause too large crowds.
118
years
Kane Tanaka, 118-year-old dean of humanity, is expected to take part in the relay in Shime, in the southwestern region of Fukuoka.
This Japanese born January 2, 1903, who loves sweets and board games, should carry the flame for a hundred meters in her wheelchair, pushed by members of her family.
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