Eerie photos of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay show just how different this year's Games will be to pre-pandemic predecessors

The Tokyo Olympics torch relay started on Thursday.Getty/Takashi Aoyama

• The Tokyo Olympic torch relay began on Thursday in Fukushima.
• Judging by photos, this year's relay will be very different to those of previous Games.
• The public was banned from the opening ceremony, while few gathered on the roads to watch either.

The Tokyo Olympic torch relay began on Thursday with a quiet opening ceremony.

Getty/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The public was banned from the ceremony, while those in attendance had to socially distance from each other.

Getty/Pool

Japan's women's soccer team began the torch's 120-day journey, which will pass through 859 locations, including all 47 of Japan's prefectures.

Getty/Pool

The torch was then carried through the streets of Fukushima.

Reuters/Pool

Large parts of Fukushima are now derelict due to a disaster at the prefecture's nuclear plant in 2011.

Getty/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Very few fans stood at the sides of the streets to watch, with large crowds having been discouraged by the government.

Reuters/Issei Kato

It was a far cry from previous Games where thousands of fans flooded the streets to see the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay. Below is a scene from the relay before London 2012.

Getty/Matt Cardy

And at Rio 2016.

Getty/Chris McGrath

There was some light entertainment at the end of first day's journey.

Getty/Philip Fong

Though again, crowds were limited.

Getty/Philip Fong

And there were strict COVID-19 protocols in place.

Retuers/Issei Kato

At London 2012, the end of the relay was celebrated with a music festival in front of an 80,000 strong crowd in Hyde Park.

Getty/AFP

At some stages of the relay's first day, people protested about the Olympics being held amid the pandemic.

Getty/Yuichi Yamazaki

A recent poll revealed that only 16% of Japanese people think the Olympics should definitely go ahead this summer.

Getty/Chung Sung-Jun

Whereas in Brazil, the occasion was more party than protest.

Getty/Mario Tama

And national pride swept across the country.

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By contrast the whole opening day of the Tokyo 2020 rally was eerie foreshadowing of what this summer's Games could look like with only limited fans in attendance.

Getty/Philip Fong