The Longest Olympic Flame

By Philip Barker

The Flame which was finally extinguished in Tokyo last week had burned for the longest time.

It had originally been kindled in Ancient Olympia on 12th March 2020 to coincide with the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami. Even then the ceremony was held behind closed doors, a portent of the eventual Olympic scenario in Tokyo.

The journey around Greece had been brought to an abrupt halt in Sparta, where crowds flocked to see film star Gerard Butler, who had starred as Leonidas in the Hollywood epic “300,” which told the story of the battle of Thermopylae.

The handover ceremony in Athens was also truncated. The flame was eventually handed to Naoko Imoto, a swimmer from Atlanta 1996, now a senior figure with UNICEF in Greece.

Within days of the flame’s arrival at Matsushima Air Base, the decision had been taken to postpone the Games.

In the interim, the Flame was kept alive. But even when the 121-day journey around Japan was re-launched in March 2021 many still doubted that it would end with the opening of the Games themselves.

Japan’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning squad were the first to carry the Flame in what was billed as a “Grand Start.”

Azusa Iwashimizu led her fellow squad members known as “Nadeshiko Japan” as they carried the Flame through the precincts of the J-Village national football training centre in Fukushima in bright sunlight.

Soon though, Osaka’s governor had taken the decision to move the relay off road. Many other municipalities followed suit. The visit to Okinawa, where thousands had attended the arrival of the 1964 Flame was also held without spectators.

Many local authorities opted for what were billed as “alternative lighting ceremonies.” There was a sense that  the raison d’etre of the relay was largely lost.

Even when it reached Sapporo, where the race walking events and marathons were to be held, the lighting ritual was conducted away from public roads. There were many who questioned whether it was worth continuing at all.

IOC President Thomas Bach had decided to forego participation in order to set an example.

The final straw was the grand entry into Tokyo.  In the days which followed, it was again carried into empty arenas. On the final day, the Tokyo authorities described how the ceremony was to work at the “Citizens’ Plaza” in the central area of the city.

“Torchbearers in Shinjuku who were scheduled to run on the day will light the torch and pass it around to one another (this action is called a “torch kiss”) on the stage. The final torchbearer in Shinjuku will place the Olympic flame on a special celebration cauldron.”

Japanese Olympic Committee President and 1984 Judo gold medallist Yasuhiro Yamashita had been amongst those to pass the Flame in a much truncated event which again lacked the essence of the traditional Torch Relay.

Kabuki actor, Kankuro Nakamura VI, lit the final cauldron in the plaza. The Flame did not reappear in public until the Opening Ceremony itself.

Yet when the Flame arrived at the stadium, its arrival restored its dignity.

It was carried by the two triple Olympic champions originally selected to collect the Flame at the Handover ceremony in Athens.

Judoka, Tadahiro Nomura, and freestyle wrestler, Saori Yoshida, passed the Flame to a succession of runners including baseball players, Shigeo Nagamura, Sadahuro Oh and Hideki Matsui, and representatives of the medical profession, Doctor Hiroki Ohashi and nurse, Junko Kitagawa. Paralympic champion, Wakako Tsuchida, a marathoner Paratriathlete and ice sledge racer with gold medals at both summer and winter Games also carried the Torch.

Then came six bearers: Hiromu Terashima, Chihiro Sugawara, Towa Matsubara, Mitsuki Takahashi, Ren Nakazawa and Kokona Aoki. All were pupils drawn from schools in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures, those most affected by the 2011 disaster.

The cauldron was eventually lit by tennis star, Naomi Osaka. The bowl was designed by Oki Sato and the Flame burned using hydrogen fuel.

The organisers had given a clue earlier in the evening when it was announced that Osaka’s first round singles match had been rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday.

Later that evening, the Flame was transported to another cauldron on Tokyo’s waterfront at the Ariake Yume-no-Ohashi Bridge by 2016 badminton doubles champion Ayaka Takahashi.

This followed a trend begun at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the most recent Olympics in Rio. On both occasions, the Flame had been put on display in an accessible public area. In Tokyo, spectators were discouraged from congregating, and staff held placards reminding the public to observe social distancing.