ATHENS: Greece’s International Olympic Committee IOC has announced here on Sunday (15th of March, 2020) that the handing-over ceremony of Tokyo Olympics Torch will take place here in an empty arena.

Hellenic Olympic Committee has informed that the handover ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games flame will take place at the Panathenaic Stadium behind closed doors on Thursday, 19th March, 2020.

It may be recalled that Greece had cancelled the remainder of the domestic Olympic torch relay through the country to avoid attracting crowds a day after the Tokyo Games flame was lit in Olympia.

Relevant pieces published earlier: 

Tokyo Olympics: IOC says show will go on despite Coronavirus Pandemic

14th of March, 2020

TOKYO: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, while commenting on the fate of Tokyo Games has said that despite Coronavirus Pandemic the show will go on.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe too stated here that the Tokyo Olympic Games would go ahead as planned in July,  2020 despite Coronavirus Pandemic.

Maintaining that  Olympic Committee (IOC) would have the final decision whether Tokyo 2020 goes ahead, Japanese PM held: “We will overcome the spread of the infection and host the Olympics without problem, as planned.”

Japan section of the Olympic Torch relay is due to start in Fukushima on 26th of  March. The recent torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held without spectators, before the rest of the relay in Greece was suspended to avoid attracting crowds.

It is pertinent to mention here that so far Coronavirus had claimed 28 lives in the Land of the Rising Sun. But we are talking of the country that had risen from the Ashes of IInd WW after suffering from two nukes.

Coronavirus: Japan says Olympics will not be postponed

TOKYO: Japan is confident that despite the Controversial pandemic the Olympics will take place as per schedule.

PM Shinzo Abe stated that the Tokyo Olympic Games would go ahead as planned in July, 2020  despite coronavirus concerns resulting in the postponement of sporting events.

“We will overcome spread of the infection and host the Olympics without problem, as planned,” he said. However, he prompted to add that International Olympic Committee (IOC) would have the final decision about the fate of Tokyo 2020

It may be noted that so far Coronavirus has claimed 28 lives in Japan.

Newspakistan.tv | YouTube Channel