The coronavirus has “extinguished” the Olympic Flame: the Greek Olympic Committee decided on Friday to suspend the famous Torch Relay “in the interest of public health.” The decision was taken just hours after thousands of Greeks defied the preventive measures and flocked to watch Hollywood star Gerard Butler lighting his torch in Sparta.
Surrounded by smiling locals and reporters, Gerard Butler approached the Olympic Flame and shouted his famous line “This is Sparta!” as he laid the torch on the flame.
“The Olympic Torch Relay is interrupted following unexpectedly large crowds at the Spartan Olympic Light Ceremony and despite repeated recommendations to the public not to congest during the ceremonies,” the GOC said in a statement.
It is a “difficult but imperative decision to halt the Torch Relay across Greece,” the statement stressed.
“The decision was made in consultation with the Ministry of Health and the International Olympic Committee with a deep sense of responsibility, as public health is the supreme good and in these difficult times a reasonable attitude is required from all sides,” the statement added.
“The Olympic Flame will be delivered to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee on Thursday, March 19th, at the Panathenaic Stadium, without the presence of the public,” the statement concluded.
PS Before heading to Sparta, Butler reportedly enjoyed Athens by night and on Thursday evening, he enjoyed local specialties in Sparta, in a big event organized by the local authorities.
Butler in front of the statue of Leonidas shouting not “This is COVID-19!”
