Tokyo 2020; Three years to go

24 July 2017

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today co-hosted a “Tokyo 2020 Flag Tour Festival / 3 Years to Go to the Tokyo 2020 Games” event, to mark that it is exactly three years until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The event was co-hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japanese Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and around 5,000 spectators joined Japanese Olympians and Paralympians and other guests at Tokyo’s Citizens’ Plaza in Shinjuku to celebrate the milestone.

This event was also the prelude to the Nationwide Tokyo 2020 Flag Tour which aims to bring some of the excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to every corner of the country. Since the Olympic and Paralympic flags arrived in Tokyo from Rio, they have been paraded through all cities, towns, wards and villages in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, prefectures affected by the 2011 East Japan earthquake and Kumamoto prefecture, which was hit by a major quake in 2016. The Flag Tour built on the momentum of support for the Games generated in Japan during the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

Today’s event featured a newly-created projection mapping show, whereby a spectacular video light show highlighting the attractions of Tokyo and the power of sport was projected on to the exterior of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly building, accompanied by music. Spectators, Olympians and Paralympians later battled each other in a fun computer game that was projected onto the huge screen. The enthusiasm of the fans and the dynamic 3D art show provided a glimpse of what people can expect from Tokyo 2020.

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori commented, “Today marks exactly three years until the start of the Tokyo 2020 Games. It’s also been three and a half years since the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee was established. The Organising Committee started with just 44 staff members; now, the number has grown to over 1,200.

“Firstly, I’d like to express my gratitude towards all of our colleagues at the Organising Committee, as well as to the many other people at the various organisations who have devoted themselves to the preparations for the Games.

“Although there have been some bumps along the way, many of the challenges have been overcome.Overall preparation is well underway, and we have also successfully reached an agreement with related parties on general costs and role sharing.

“As there are only three years until Tokyo 2020, we have commenced the preparation of more intangible aspects of the Games – the mascots, the torch relay and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. We have committees set up for each of those projects, with experts who represent Japan in those fields. We hope to show the best of Tokyo and Japan through the innovative initiatives that we are implementing in the lead up to what we believe will be the most exciting Games ever.

“This summer, we are producing a Tokyo 2020 happi, or traditional Japanese jacket, a special yukata, or casual kimono, and we are releasing “Tokyo Gorin Ondo 2020”, a dance song in traditional Japanese style celebrating the Games. We have produced these in the hope that many people all over the country will wear the Tokyo 2020 summer festival costumes and dance to the song.

“The common theme of these engagement initiatives this summer is “Happy & Peace”. Through this, we are expressing the wish that many people, old and young, men and women, will dance and feel happy when the Tokyo Gorin Ondo 2020 song is played. A video will soon be available on our website, through which people can learn the song and the dance routine. We hope that people around the world can thus have a glimpse of Japanese culture.

“Today, as we enter the next stage of preparations, we are thrilled at the prospect of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we remain committed to working hard so that in three years time we will be able to welcome our guests from around the world and deliver a most exciting summer festival.”