The flame for the Tokyo Games was lit this morning at the "birthplace of the ancient games in a pared-down ceremony because of the coronavirus," according to the AP. IOC President Thomas Bach at the ceremony noted the "'difficult circumstances' created by the virus outbreak, but stressed the IOC's commitment to the success" of the Games. The flame will go on a "week-long relay through Greece" before being handed over to Tokyo Games officials on March 19 in Athens. Today's ceremony was held with "customary mock-archaic splendor," but fears of coronavirus "forced Greek officials to ban members of the public from attending the ceremony and severely curtail the number of invited officials and journalists." Normally, "several thousand people from many countries" gather at the event. The IOC has stressed that the Games "will go ahead as planned" from July 24-Aug. 9, even as events around the globe "are being curtailed or held without spectators." The organization also has "urged all athletes to continue preparing for the Olympics" (AP, 3/12).
PLAYING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS? BLOOMBERG NEWS' Eben Novy-Williams notes holding the Tokyo Games "behind closed doors may be the best of a bunch of bad options." That would "satisfy the athletes and, equally important, the media companies that pay the IOC billions to broadcast the events." Former USOC Exec Dir Harvey Schiller said, "If it's an issue of people physically being unable to go to the games, that's not as big an issue as people (not) watching the games through broadcasts." Novy-Williams notes the "loser" in that scenario is Tokyo, as local organizers are "on the hook for selling $840 million in tickets." While IOC sponsors "sign on for multiple cycles, the host committee landed dozens of local sponsorships -- worth a record $3.3 billion -- specifically" for these Games (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/12).
