Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame to be held without the presence of spectators

"The Hellenic Olympic Committee held a meeting today regarding the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame (March 12, in Ancient Olympia). Taking into consideration the latest decisions of the Hellenic Government about the protection of public health due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the HOC made the following decisions:

The Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame will be held without the presence of spectators and will be attended by only 100 accredited guests from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.

The dress rehearsal on March 11 will be closed to the public and to the journalists.The media accreditations will be extremely limited.

We urge the Mayors of the cities through which the Olympic Flame will pass or stay overnight to follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Organization.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee will continue to monitor the situation and, depending on developments, will make decisions, always with a view to protecting public health," the Hellenic Olympic Committee said in an announcement.