Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay Pulled Off Streets of Hiroshima

Unfortunately, the increasing Covid cases made the relay a hazardous situation. Even with just 10 weeks before the opening ceremony, they’re making sure to take any precautions necessary to prevent the Olympics as a whole from canceling. Here are the highlights:

• Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said that a ceremony next week will most likely happen without a relay.
• Organizers warned before the relay started that a lot of changes and delays may happen as a result of the pandemic. Yuzaki said that there’ll be no relay on public streets and they’re still figuring out how to do the ceremony.
• The relay began on March 25 in Northeastern Japan and scheduled to end on July 23 at the opening ceremony. However, it won’t be easy with Tokyo and other areas being in a state of emergency until the end of May.
• Japan has certainly dealt with its own trouble of the virus through 11,000 deaths due to Covid, and new cases of the virus and variants continue to ramp up the cases.
• Despite calls to cancel last year to save money, the relay is still receiving big sponsorships from Toyota and Coca-Cola.
• Due to Japan’s tough pandemic situation, International Olympic President Thomas Bach had to cancel the trip to Hiroshima to greet the torch, which was a bit embarrassing because of IOC and local organizers saying the Olympics will be safe and secure for athletes and fans.
• Yuzaki said the rapid rate of cases would make for an emergency situation unless they were able to lower the curve.