Tokyo, Japan, March 25, 2021: The Grand Start of the Olympic Torch Relay for Tokyo 2020 took place in Fukushima on Thursday, March 25.
The relay motto is “Hope Lights Our Way” and the torch will be carried through Japan’s 47 prefectures and 859 municipalities on a 121-day journey to the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 23.
Fukushima Prefecture was the perfect venue for the torch to begin its four-month journey to Tokyo. The area was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 and the effects of the ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster are still felt there to this day. The city, though, has become a symbol of hardship and resilience. Of tragedy and triumph.
“I feel like it’s all finally underway,” said Seiko Hashimoto, President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. “It so happens these Games were postponed and, as a result, overlapped with the 10-year anniversary of the earthquake. I couldn’t be more grateful if we got through the 121 days in one piece."
The Japanese national anthem was performed at the start of the day’s events and it was followed by the Olympic anthem.
The blowing of conch shells – that most natural instrument of the sea – by local performers called to the world beyond the waves. The thudding of Taiko drums shook the air. Local schoolchildren sang and flags waved under the dome of the J-Village.
Azusa Iwashimizu, a member of Japan's 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup-winning team, took the flame first. She was supported by 14 other members of the World Cup-winning team and coach Norio Sasaki.
Source:https://tokyo2020.org
