A meeting was held at the Hellenic Olympic Committee in view of the Lighting (12th March) and Handover (19th March) ceremonies due to the COVID-19 virus, in the presence of HOC President, Spyros Capralos, the Secretary General, Manolis Kolympadis and the Chairman of the Olympic Torch Relay Commission, Athanasios Vassiliadis.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee announces that the ceremonies of the Lighting and Handover ceremonies as well as the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay will take place as scheduled.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee, with a sense of responsibility for the protection of public health, collaborates closely with the Ministry of Health, Civil Protection, National Emergency Aid Center and the Crisis Management in the Health sector.
The discussion focused on issues related to the Olympic Flame ceremonies and the Greek leg of the Torch Relay and the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Olympic Flame ceremonies.
The decisions made to tackle the situation are the following:
To cancel lunches, dinners and receptions scheduled by the HOC in ancient Olympia during the Lighting ceremony.
To reduce significantly the number of accreditations while only the necessary number of accreditation cards will be issued.
To hold the dress rehearsal of the Lighting ceremony on March 11, without the presence of spectators.
To recommend to the Municipality and local authorities of ancient Olympia to reduce the number of public events already scheduled.
In addition, it was also decided that every two days there will be analysis and study of data and considering the situation, starting on Thursday, a new meeting will be held to make decisions with regards to the Olympic Flame ceremonies.