TOKYO • Spectators will be allowed to line the route when the Olympic flame begins its delayed relay across Japan next month, the organisers said yesterday, but cheering will be strictly banned.
The torch relay was scrapped just days before it was due to kick off last year, when Japanese and Olympic officials took the unprecedented decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Games by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite persistent concerns about the safety of holding the Games this summer, organisers say the massive event can go ahead and the relay, which will cover Japan's 47 prefectures, will kick off as planned on March 25.
"The infection situation will vary from area to area, so we need to take that into account and it will be very important to have a meticulous approach," Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said.
"We want to get the understanding of people in every area and connect the whole country under the torch relay concept, 'Hope Lights Our Way'."
The torch relay will start from a symbolic site in Fukushima, highlighting the role of Tokyo 2020 in what Japan has dubbed the "Reconstruction Olympics" after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
But the relay will be a much more sober affair than usual. Spectators will be allowed to watch the flame pass but must wear masks, avoid crowding and attend only segments of the relay near their home.
"They must support with applause or by using distributed goods rather than by shouting or cheering," the guidelines warn, adding that social distance must be maintained. "Individual relay segments will be suspended if there is a risk of overcrowding."
Torchbearers, however, will be able to run without masks, although both runners and staff must keep detailed health records in the two weeks before their participation.
But the organisers say the relay will not be automatically stopped if a runner who has taken part later tests positive, and that the "basic policy" is to continue unless there is a large-scale Covid-19 cluster.
Around 300 foreign runners were set to take part last year - but organisers said it would now be "very difficult" for them to join in.
Japan's borders are closed to almost all foreign arrivals as part of the country's countermeasures.
Parts of Japan are currently under a two-month long state of emergency due to lift by March 7, although segments of the relay could be suspended if the measure is reimposed in areas where the torch relay will take place.
The Games are set to open on July 23, and the organisers have outlined guidelines they say will allow the event to be held safely.
Final decisions on some key elements remain, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach saying yesterday a ruling on whether to allow foreign spectators could come in April or May.
As for local fans, Ms Hashimoto said she hopes a decision on how many fans are allowed into Games arenas will be taken around the time the torch relay begins.
On the former Olympics minister, who took over the role of president from the disgraced Yoshiro Mori last week, Bach added that there had been a "seamless transition" of power in the organising committee, with Ms Hashimoto due to organise a meeting with IOC officials.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG
