Olympics: Cherry blossom-themed torch unveiled for Tokyo 2020

TOKYO (Reuters) – The torch layout for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games was unveiled on Wednesday, precisely a year earlier than the flame, because it arrived in Japan from Greece.

The theme of the purple gold torch centers on ‘sakura’ or cherry blossom in Japan, which arrived each spring to a good deal of fanfare and was designed for youngsters from the regions most severely damaged by the 2011 earthquake tsunami.

Designer Tokujin Yoshioka stated he was inspired to create the torch, which features five sakura petals reduced into its head to mirror the five Olympic earrings, following a visit to a standard faculty in Fukushima.

“I become very impressed with the powerful expression inside the cherry blossoms drawn with the aid of kids in this region,” Yoshioka said at the unveiling rite in Tokyo. “They are trying to conquer demanding situations and looking to pass forward.

“I desired to share the percentage with the arena.”

The Tokyo Games are about reconstructing from the 2011 catastrophe, and the torch relay will begin in Miyagi prefecture—another region deeply affected—on March 20 next year.

The complete path is but to be disclosed.

The 1.2-kilogram torch is made from aluminum, 30 percent of which was salvaged from the transient housing built after the 2011 earthquake.