03:59The region of Hamadori in the Fukushima Prefecture held a flame lighting event for the Paralympic torch relay at the National Training Centre J-Village, Thursday. The sports facility symbolises the recovery of the prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and therefore was also chosen as the starting point for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay.
Thirteen cities, towns, and villages in the region brought together flames they had gathered each in an individual manner, some using renewable energies, to light the seed flame at Hamadori street.
The celebration was attended by Satoshi Sato, a Basketball player and Paralympian in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, who said that he hoped that "the Tokyo Paralympics will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about sports for the disabled."
"The idea behind the Paralympic torch is that the enthusiasm of all those who support the Paralympic Games will come together to create a single torch. In Fukushima Prefecture, we have decided to create the Fukushima Flame by collecting fire-seeds from all the cities, towns, and villages, each with its own ingenuity," said Deputy Director of the Culture and Sports Bureau at Fukushima Prefecture Sato Takahiro as he opened the ceremony.
The events of the prefecture were held by the three main regions of Hamadori, Nakadori, and Aizu and included all local municipalities. The torch will be united in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on August 15 and sent to Tokyo to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony on August 24.
Japan: Flame lighting events for Paralympic torch relay kick off in Fukushima Prefecture
The region of Hamadori in the Fukushima Prefecture held a flame lighting event for the Paralympic torch relay at the National Training Centre J-Village, Thursday. The sports facility symbolises the recovery of the prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and therefore was also chosen as the starting point for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay.
Thirteen cities, towns, and villages in the region brought together flames they had gathered each in an individual manner, some using renewable energies, to light the seed flame at Hamadori street.
The celebration was attended by Satoshi Sato, a Basketball player and Paralympian in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, who said that he hoped that "the Tokyo Paralympics will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about sports for the disabled."
"The idea behind the Paralympic torch is that the enthusiasm of all those who support the Paralympic Games will come together to create a single torch. In Fukushima Prefecture, we have decided to create the Fukushima Flame by collecting fire-seeds from all the cities, towns, and villages, each with its own ingenuity," said Deputy Director of the Culture and Sports Bureau at Fukushima Prefecture Sato Takahiro as he opened the ceremony.
The events of the prefecture were held by the three main regions of Hamadori, Nakadori, and Aizu and included all local municipalities. The torch will be united in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on August 15 and sent to Tokyo to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony on August 24.
The region of Hamadori in the Fukushima Prefecture held a flame lighting event for the Paralympic torch relay at the National Training Centre J-Village, Thursday. The sports facility symbolises the recovery of the prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and therefore was also chosen as the starting point for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay.
Thirteen cities, towns, and villages in the region brought together flames they had gathered each in an individual manner, some using renewable energies, to light the seed flame at Hamadori street.
The celebration was attended by Satoshi Sato, a Basketball player and Paralympian in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, who said that he hoped that "the Tokyo Paralympics will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about sports for the disabled."
"The idea behind the Paralympic torch is that the enthusiasm of all those who support the Paralympic Games will come together to create a single torch. In Fukushima Prefecture, we have decided to create the Fukushima Flame by collecting fire-seeds from all the cities, towns, and villages, each with its own ingenuity," said Deputy Director of the Culture and Sports Bureau at Fukushima Prefecture Sato Takahiro as he opened the ceremony.
The events of the prefecture were held by the three main regions of Hamadori, Nakadori, and Aizu and included all local municipalities. The torch will be united in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on August 15 and sent to Tokyo to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony on August 24.