Giant Olympic rings in Tokyo towed away for maintenance

A giant set of Olympic rings installed off Tokyo's waterfront was towed away for inspections and maintenance on Thursday after the coronavirus forced the year-long postponement of the 2020 Games. The 69-ton interlocking rings went up off the Odaiba bay area at the beginning of the year, as the city began the final countdown to the Summer Olympics.

They were intended to stay in place until the original end date of the Olympics, on August 9, and then be replaced by the Paralympics symbol. This year's Games were originally scheduled to open on July 24, but officials took the historic decision to push back the event by a year as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe. Olympic and Japanese officials have said they remain committed to holding the Games next year as planned. Opinion polls in Japan show waning confidence that the Games can, or should, be held in 2021.