Tokyo 2020The Torch

Torch Technical Details

Description:

The torch takes its inspiration from the sakura cherry-blossom, a symbolic tree in Japan. It flares out at the top to form five petals from which the flame emerges and which, seen from above, recall the shape of a cherry-blossom flower. The pink colour of the torch is also a reference to the sakura, and the central upper part features the Tokyo 2020 Olympic emblem. The torch features a two-combustion mechanism that produces a high calorific blue flame and a flameless catalytic reaction. This ensures that the flame stays alight and has a reddish colour.

Colour:

Sakura and gold

Length:

71cm

Composition:

Aluminium (30 per cent of which is recycled)

Fuel:

Propane

Designer / Manufacturer:

Tokujin Yoshioka Inc. / UACJ Extrusion Corporation (housing), LIXIL Corporation (materials), Shinfuji Burner Co., Ltd. (combustion mechanism), Eneos Globe Corporation (fuel/fuel cylinder)

Did you know?

• Recycled aluminium, which forms around 30 per cent of each torch, was originally used for temporary prefabricated housing intended for the victims of the earthquake that struck the Tohoku region in 2011.
• The torch was produced from only one sheet of metal, with no seams, thanks to a mechanical aluminium extraction process.
• A version of the torch fuelled by hydrogen was produced by Taiho Seiki Co., Ltd, Toyota Motor Corporation, and other partners. The hydrogen used was produced with solar energy. This torch was used for some parts of the relay in Fukushima, Aishi and Tokyo prefectures.

Route Design and Details

On 12 March 2020, the flame was lit at Olympia against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. The following day, after large crowds gathered to watch the torch being carried through Sparta, the decision was taken to suspend the rest of the relay in Greece so as to avoid exposing the population to the risk of infection. Nevertheless, on 19 March, the torch was handed over to the Games Organising Committee in a ceremony that took place as initially scheduled at the Panathenaic Stadium, albeit without spectators.

On 20 March, the flame arrived at Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture. Saori Yoshida, a triple Olympic wrestling champion, and Tadahiro Nomura, a three-time Olympic gold medallist in judo, brought the safety lamp containing the flame down from the aircraft. Over the next few days, in a gesture of solidarity with the regions most severely affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the flame went on display in various locations in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

On 24 March, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced that the Games would be postponed to 2021. The relay, which was due to begin on 26 March at the J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture, was also postponed. The flame remained on display for a few days in Fukushima Prefecture but, as part of the efforts to combat the virus, it was then removed from public display and kept in Tokyo by the Organising Committee. On 31 August, the flame went on public display at the Japan Olympic Museum in Tokyo, with a special ceremony held to mark the occasion. As of 7 November 2020, the flame went on show in various towns and regions across Japan.

On 25 March 2021, following the same plans as initially envisioned for the previous year, the 121-day relay across the 47 prefectures of Japan began at the J-Village in Fukushima prefecture. The first runner was Azusa Iwashimizu, a football silver medallist at the 2012 Games in London, accompanied by some of her team mates who won the women’s World Cup in 2011. During its journey, the flame visited various iconic locations like the Nachi Falls and the Hōryū-ji Temple. On 12 April, 109-year-old Shigeko Kagawa took part in the relay in the Nara prefecture. On 17 May, the relay visited the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, where a Flame of Peace burns constantly. Nonetheless, in certain regions, parts of the relay were modified or replaced by ceremonies depending on the pandemic situation. This happened in Osaka, for example, where on 13 and 14 April torchbearers carried the flame through a park with no spectators. At the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo on 23 July, Saori Yoshida and Tadahiro Nomura carried the flame into the Stadium before passing it to three former baseball stars, Shigeo Nagashima, Sadaharu Oh and Hideki Matsui. The flame was then carried jointly by Hiroki Ohashi, a doctor, Junko Kitagawa, a nurse, and Wakako Tsuchida, a Paralympic athlete. Then, six schoolchildren from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures carried the flame to Naomi Osaka, who mounted an octagonal stage intended to resemble Mount Fuji, and lit the cauldron.

The Relay: Facts and Figures

Start date:

12 March 2020, Olympia (Greece)

End date:

23 July 2021, Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (Japan)

First torchbearer:

Anna Korakaki, Olympic participant in shooting (2016, 2020 and in the Youth Olympic Games in 2014), gold and bronze medallist in Rio 2016.

Last torchbearer:

Naomi Osaka, Olympic participant in tennis (2020).

Number of torchbearers:

10,515 in Greece and Japan Recruitment of torchbearers: Applicants could be of any nationality but had to have been born before 2 April 2008 and have a specific connection to the location in which they wanted to carry the torch. Priority was given to people who had been a positive, driving force in their local communities or had demonstrated fortitude in the face of difficult circumstances. Applications were submitted via the Relay Presenting Partners – Coca-Cola Japan, Toyota, Nippon Life and NTT Communications – or the country’s prefectures. Up to five applications were permitted through these various channels, but the same person could be selected only once. Following the postponement of the relay to 2021, priority was given to torchbearers who had already been selected.

Distance:

~ 2,000km covered by torchbearers

Countries visited:

Greece and Japan

Did you know?

• For the first time in the history of the Olympic torch relay, a woman, Anna Korakaki, was the first torchbearer.
• The cauldron in the Stadium, designed by Oki Sato, represented the sun. It opened up like a flower to symbolise hope and vitality. A similar smaller cauldron was set up on the Yume no Ohashi bridge close to Tokyo Bay. It was lit shortly after the Opening Ceremony by Ayaka Takahashi, badminton doubles gold medallist at Rio 2016. The flame burned there throughout the Games. The fuel used for both cauldrons was hydrogen.