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Olympic flame for Beijing 2022 Winter Games to be lit in empty stadium as coronavirus lingers
- The Greek Olympic committee cited Covid-19 constraints for the restricted ceremony, in a repeat of the lead-up to the Tokyo Games
- The torch relay around Greece, which had to be abandoned last year because of huge crowds, has also been cancelled
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The Olympic flame will once again be lit in an empty stadium as it starts its truncated journey to Beijing for the Winter Games in February.
Like the ceremony in March 2020 to light the flame for Tokyo – and like those Games, which were put back a year – Monday’s ceremony is a victim of coronavirus restrictions.
“Due to the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the lighting ceremony will be held in strict compliance with local health protocols,” the Hellenic Olympic Committee announced in September.
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China, IOC to ban overseas spectators from 2022 Olympic Winter Games
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The ceremony is conducted at the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia, site of the ancient Greek games from the eighth century BC to the fourth century AD.
Clear skies are forecast for 11.30am local time when the flame is due to be lit by the rays of the sun concentrated in a concave.
Priestess Xanthi Georgiou will light the torch from the flames.
Before the pandemic, the flame had been lit behind closed doors once, in 1984, when Greek organisers wanted to protest against the decision of the Los Angeles organisers to accept sponsorship for stretches of the torch relay in the United States.
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