The Grand Start of the Olympic Torch Relay in Fukushima brought with it a sense of new beginnings and the promise of springtime, as the Olympic Flame began its long journey across Japan.
The Grand Start of the Olympic Torch Relay in Japan’s northeastern prefecture Fukushima on Thursday marked the beginning of a four month-journey towards the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Games on 23 July 2021.
The ceremony was awash in flowers and welcome bloom as the residents of Japan called out to the world a message of warmth and opening.
The event was smaller than originally planned, but it met the moment with a subtle flourish. A spirit of sharing was alive on this hazy morning in Fukushima while the torch makes its way toward the cauldron of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium over the next 121 days.
Iwashimizu Azusa, a key player of the Japanese women’s football team that won the World Cup in 2011, was the first runner with the torch.
Fukushima Prefecture was the perfect venue for the torch relay to begin its four-month countdown to the Tokyo Olympics, a year later than expected due to a postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,
The area was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 and the effects of the ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster are still felt there to this day. The city, though,…
