Arrived in the saudi arabian city of mecca for a downsized hajj. as sophia tran thomson reports, restrictions are tight, as the kingdom is hoping to repeat last year s success that saw no coronavirus outbreaks during the muslim ritual. the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of islam. all muslims are expected to retrace the prophet mohammed s final pilgrimage at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so. the event is usually one of the world s largest annual gatherings and would normally see 2.5 million muslims from around the world converge on mecca. this year, just 60,000 healthy and vaccinated saudi residents, chosen through a lottery from almost 600,000 applicants, will take part. strict social distancing measures are in place and a hajj smart pass is being used to allow contact free access and transportation
Tens of thousands of pilgrims have arrived in the saudi arabian city of mecca for a downsized hajj. as sophia tran thomson reports, restrictions are tight, as the kingdom is hoping to repeat last yea r s success which saw no coronavirus outbreaks during the five day muslim ritual. the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of islam. all muslims are expected to retrace the prophet muhammad s final pilgrimage at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so. the event is usually one of the world s largest annual gatherings and would normally see 2.5 million muslims from around the world converge on mecca. this year, just 60,000 healthy and vaccinated saudi residents, chosen through a lottery from almost 600,000 applicants, will take part. strict social distancing measures
In the final stage in paris. the overall tour de france title went to tadej pogacar for the second year in a row. and england s cricketers have levelled their t20 series with pakistan. there s more on the bbc sport website. back to you. that s it for now. i m back with the next news at 10. you re watching the bbc news. tens of thousands of pilgrims have arrived in the saudi arabian city of mecca for a downsized hajj. as sophia tran thomson reports, restrictions are tight as the kingdom is hoping to repeat
Causing loss of lives every year. dipali jagtap from mumbai. tens of thousands of pilgrims have arrived in the saudi arabian city of mecca for a downsized hajj. as sophia tran thomson reports, restrictions are tight as the kingdom is hoping to repeat last year s success that saw no coronavirus outbreaks during the muslim ritual. the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of islam. all muslims are expected to retrace the prophet mohammed s final pilgrimage at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so. the event is usually one of the world s largest annual gatherings and would normally see 2.5 million muslims from around the world converge on mecca. this year, just 60,000 healthy and vaccinated saudi residents, chosen through a lottery from almost 600,000 applicants, will take part.