Olympic flame display ends as Japan prepares for state of emergency due to coronavirus

Japan took the unprecedented decision to postpone the summer Olympic Games, although the flame remained on display in Fukushima since last week

A local student lights the Olympic Flame in March, during the "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Visitors queue to see the Olympic Flame during a ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Visitors pose with a national flag reading "Supporting the world" during the Olympic "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Spectators wait to see the Olympic flame display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

The Olympic flame is displayed at the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium in Iwaki in Fukushima the day after the historic decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. AFP

A notice reads in Japanese "Under adjustment" is pasted on a countdown display for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo on March 25. AFP

Staff members remove the cover of the cauldron before the Olympic flame goes on display at the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium in Iwaki in Fukushima. AFP

Visitors pray for a minute of silence for the victims of 2011 Tsunami and earthquake during the Olympic "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony. AP

Women wearing protective face masks walk past the Olympic rings in front of the Japan Olympics Museum, a day after the announcement of the games' postponement to 2021. Reuters

Spectators wait to see the Olympic flame display ceremony. AP

Japan will end the Olympic flame display in Fukushima, officials said on Tuesday, as the country prepares for a state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan took the unprecedented decision to postpone the summer Olympic Games to July 2021 following the outbreak, although the flame had remained on display in the northeastern Fukushima region since last week.

However, Japanese Olympic organisers decided to shelve the flame display as the coronavirus cases climb in the country.

The flame, lit in Greece, arrived in Japan on March 20 for a torch relay originally scheduled to start six days later and climax at the Olympics opening ceremony on July 24.

But the raging pandemic prompted the first postponement of the Games in peace-time, with the opening ceremony now slated to take place on July 23, 2021.

To keep the Olympic spirit alive in Japan, local organisers decided to maintain the flame in a lantern and display it in Fukushima, where the torch relay was going to start.

"Originally we wanted to hold the public display until the end of April. But considering recent developments, we decided to stop," said a Tokyo 2020 organising committee spokesman.

He declined to comment on where the flame will be stored, saying that organisers had no immediate plan to show it to the public and hoped to prevent people from congregating around the storage location.

The flame has had a troubled journey because of the coronavirus since being lit in ancient Olympia without spectators to avoid spreading the disease.

The Greek leg of the torch relay was scrapped when large crowds mobbed Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit a cauldron in the town of Sparta.

The flame arrived to a muted welcome in northern Japan in front of a few dozen officials and guests, after plans to invite 200 schoolchildren were abandoned.

It then attracted large crowds in Japan despite calls from organisers to avoid mass gatherings because of the virus.