Olympia (Greece) (AFP)

For the first time in three decades, the Olympic flame will be lit in the absence of spectators, Thursday in Olympia, for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, because of the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The long-awaited ceremony was singularly rethought by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Hellenic Olympic Committee, because of coronavirus, which affects 89 people in Greece, including one seriously over 60.

The majority of cases come from the Peloponnese peninsula where Olympia is located, cradle of Olympism in antiquity.

Prohibited spectators, limited number of guests and media, canceled festivities ... the drastic measures have been unprecedented since 1984.

That year at Olympia, the flame had been lit without ceremony or spectators. The Greek organizers intended to protest against the marketing of the Los Angeles Olympics.

As traditionally, the ceremony of lighting the flame with the rays of the sun will take place on the ruins of the temple of Hera in Olympia, seat of the Games of Antiquity in Greece.

But only 10% of the guests will be present, and none of the 10,000 to 12,000 spectators initially expected. "There will be no one," Athanasios Vasileiadis, chairman of the Olympic Torch Relay Commission, said on Wednesday.

Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, expressed his "gratitude" to the Greek authorities for "having taken the necessary measures".

He assured, during a joint press conference at Olympia, that his committee would "continue (his) efforts to allow the Games to take place" in a safe environment ", denying the possibility of a postponement of the Games of Tokyo, which are scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 9.

A member of the Japanese organizing committee for the Games, Haruyuki Takahashi, estimated in the columns of the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that a postponement of one to two years from the Tokyo Olympics was realistic.

- The flame to "stop the health war" -

Yasuhiro Yamashita, president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, for his part praised the importance of "supporting people through sport" affected by the virus.

"In the past, the Olympic flame, where it passed, stopped the war. I hope it will have the strength to stop the health war in which we find ourselves today," said Athanasios Vasileiadis.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitstotakis has canceled his presence at Olympia. On the other hand, the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos maintains his participation in the last ceremony of his presidency, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou being sworn in on Friday to succeed him.

Earlier, during the dress rehearsal, the flame was lit thanks to the sun's rays and Anna Korakaki, who will be the first torchbearer on Thursday, lit the torch before repeating the race she will perform in the stadium antique.

It will be the first time in the history of the Olympic torch relay that a woman will initiate the course of the flame. Anna Korakaki, Olympic, European and world pistol champion, was unanimously chosen by the Hellenic Olympic Committee. "It is an immense honor for me," she told AFP, hoping to be "the first woman in a long series".

"This choice demonstrates our effort to promote gender equality," said Spyros Capralos, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee at AFP. "Proof of progress in sport, and more generally in society," added Capralos.

The Greek athlete will be the first of some 600 runners to carry the flame in Greece.

The Olympic torch will cross 31 cities and 15 archaeological sites in Greece, including Kalamata, Kastelorizo ​​Island, Crete and Thessaloniki, covering 3,200 kilometers.

Spectators will not be prohibited from coming to follow the Greek relay: "It's a celebration," said Vaseiliadis, warning that "everyone is responsible and must follow the instructions of the government".

The torch will end its Greek journey in the Panathenaic stadium of Athens on March 19, where it will be transmitted to the Tokyo 2020 delegation, before flying to Japan.

© 2020 AFP