Olympic flame-lighting ceremony to go ahead despite coronavirus concerns

Next week’s flame-lighting ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will go ahead in Greece despite concerns about the virus outbreak.

The Greek Olympic committee says it is working closely with national health authorities and will hold meetings to re-evaluate the situation every two days.

The committee also says the Greek leg of the torch relay will go ahead. Greece has recorded eight cases of the virus. All of them are linked with people who traveled from Italy.

The Olympic flame is ceremonially lit months in advance of the games at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece. [AP]