The traditional Olympic torch handover ceremony will take place behind closed doors next week amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has been confirmed.
No spectators will be admitted to witness the flame being officially handed over to the Tokyo Organising Committee at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Thursday (March 19) following a decision made by the Hellenic Olympic Committee as part of efforts to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The one-week relay of the Olympic torch across Greece - which saw the flame lit in a ceremony in Ancient Olympia before heading to Sparta, where it was carried by film star Gerard Butler - had already been cancelled on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak, while it is supposed to begin touring Japan in under a fortnight.
"The Hellenic Olympic Committee has decided that the handover ceremony for the "Tokyo 2020" Olympic Games, on Thursday, March 19, will take place at the Panathenaic Stadium behind closed doors," read a statement from the Hellenic Olympic Committee released on Sunday.
"Following the orders of the Greek State in order to contain the coronavirus pandemic and for the protection of public health no accreditation cards issued will be valid."
Despite most of the world's big sporting events being suspended or cancelled due to coronavirus fears, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains insistent that the Tokyo Games - due to begin officially on 24 July - will go ahead as planned.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
