They have won medal after medal. They have led the way in new disciplines, some of which will appear on the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020. And they have thrilled the large crowds that have filled every arena. They are the stars of the third Summer Youth Olympic Games, staged for the first time and with great success in South America.
The most prominent heroes of the latest edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, held in the Argentinian capital, were the local fans. They packed the stands at every venue, created a wonderful atmosphere and deafening noise, and were hailed by all the young athletes, who were pleasantly amazed to receive their wholehearted support, regardless of which part of the world they hailed from. The success of South America’s first YOG belongs to them, and also to the army of volunteers who ensured the competitions all ran smoothly.
In the sporting arena itself, the young athletes showed that they have rich promise and bright futures ahead of them when they embark on their careers at the very highest level, which some of them have already reached. Shining bright among them was Japan’s Takeru Kitazono, who lit up the men’s artistic gymnastic competitions and won no fewer than five gold medals to announce himself as the heir to the throne of Kohei Uchimura, regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. “I am definitely planning to be at Tokyo 2020 and to achieve the same level of performance. I am going to step up my training with that goal in mind,” said the Japanese phenomenon, who celebrates his 16th birthday on 21 October.
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Russia’s leading swimmers also showed an appetite for gold medals. Six each went to Kliment Kolesnikov, who won every individual men’s backstroke event, and team-mate Andrei Minakov, who was in a class of his own in the butterfly races and also won the 100m freestyle. The duo also won all the men’s and mixed relay events with their Russian team-mates, all of them, that is, except the mixed 4x100m medley relay, in which they finished second to China.
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Also turning in a series of dominant performances was the Chinese diver Shan Lin, who claimed every gold available to her: the women’s 3m springboard, the women’s 10m platform and the mixed international team competition with Colombia’s Daniel Restrepo. And what of Italian equestrian athlete Giacomo Casadei, who got the most out of his mount Darna Z, allocated to him in the pre-competition draw? He did not incur a single fault in contesting two rounds and a jump-off as Europe 1 collected silver in the jumping international team competition and in contesting another two rounds and a jump-off in winning jumping individual gold.
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Who could forget the extraordinary goalscoring feats of Portuguese futsal sensation Ana Sofia Gonçalves, better known as Fifó? She scored 21 goals in all in the women’s competition, including all four of her side’s goals as they beat Japan in the final. Egypt’s young modern pentathletes were also on top of their game: Salma Abdelmaksoud and Ahmed Elgendy respectively won the women’s and men’s individual titles, with Elgendy then joining forces with China’s Yewen Gu to land the mixed international team relay gold.
The heroes of Buenos Aires 2018 also include the Argentinian athletes who brought the home fans to their feet by winning gold. Among them were the men’s rugby sevens and basketball 3x3 teams and the women's hockey5s and beach handball; Maria Sol Ordas, who won the host nation’s first gold medal of Buenos Aires 2018 in the women’s single sculls (rowing); and the cape-wearing superhero Fausto Ruesga, who defied gravity and gave free rein to his imagination in taking the men’s dunk contest honours.
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The events of the future
The last group of heroes of the first gender-equal YOG, which saw the same number of male and female athletes take part and a very large number of mixed competitions, are the athletes who led the way for the sports and disciplines that will make their first appearance at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (among them basketball 3x3, karate, sport climbing and BMX freestyle), and the disciplines of the future, which enjoyed such spectacular success at their Buenos Aires testing ground.
Breaking, the urban, hip hop offshoot of dance sports, set pulses racing in the Argentinian capital over four enthralling days of competition, which saw B-Girl Ram of Japan win the women’s event as well as the mixed event and Russia’s B-Boy Bumblebee the men’s.
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The future also looks bright for futsal, kiteboarding, beach handball, acrobatic gymnastics, roller speed skating, and hockey5s. In terms of events, it also promises much for the exciting, all new gymnastics multidiscipline team and badminton relay team competitions.
The Buenos Aires 2018 programme brought glory to a large number of mixed teams, many of them made up of athletes from different countries. They all had fun. They all made friends. They all enjoyed this new way of winning medals. And they all gave a glimpse of the future; while mixed-NOC events are a unique feature of the YOG, mixed-gender events are now set to become an integral part of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games programmes.
At the invitation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), German athlete representatives were in Lausanne today to discuss the IOC’s solidarity model for funding the Olympic Games and the athletes. Taking part were the elected representative and Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Kirsty Coventry; the IOC Director General, Christophe De Kepper; IOC Directors Kit McConnell and Lana Haddad; and the IOC President, Thomas Bach. From the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), President Alfons Hörmann and CEO Veronika Rücker attended.
The main topics discussed were as follows: 1. The IOC solidarity model was discussed at length: Solidarity is a core principle of the Olympic Games, to support all athletes from all countries, big or small, and from all sports, so as to give everyone an equal opportunity. It was highlighted that the IOC generates and distributes 90 per cent of its revenue via this solidarity model to support the staging of the Olympic Games, including the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs); the Olympic Movement stakeholders (206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and 40 International Federations (IFs)); sports development; promotion of the Olympic Movement; engagement with young people; and the protection of clean athletes. This solidarity model makes universal participation at the Olympic Games possible, creating more equality among participating NOCs, and more equality for participating athletes and their sports.
It was explained that the IOC’s solidarity model is not profit-oriented but a values-based model. If it were a profit-oriented model, it would for instance not be possible to have all the current Olympic sports as part of the Olympic programme. The same holds true for the athletes’ participation. If it were profit-oriented, the IOC could not support all the 206 NOCs and their athletes, and not all sports.
With regard to the support the IOC gives to athletes, it was explained that athletes’ support takes very different forms in all NOCs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. For this reason, in addition to the support provided directly by the IOC through various programmes, the IOC also provides funding to the NOCs, leaving it to each individual NOC to customise its support to athletes according to local needs. Each individual NOC decides how to make the best use of the IOC funding. This support takes different forms in different NOCs, ranging from prize money to funding athletes in the time between Olympic Games, investing in sports infrastructure, coaching programmes and many more.
The IOC also contributes substantially to the fight against doping. Fifty per cent of the costs of WADA are covered by the Olympic Movement. And it is estimated that the sports movement contributes close to 300 million dollars annually towards the global anti-doping effort.
With regard to support provided to the IFs, it was pointed out that the IOC contribution helps the IFs to develop their respective sports and keep them functioning and relevant in the time between the Olympic Games. Support for the OCOGs is what makes the Games possible at all, and gives athletes the best possible conditions and a global stage on which to perform. Athletes and officials also benefit from IOC support through free travel, accommodation, medical services and more during the Games.
At the end of the day, the IOC can spend this money – the 90 per cent of its revenues which goes to supporting sport and the athletes – only once. It is up to each NOC and IF, in consultation with their athlete commissions, to decide how best to support the athletes, in accordance with the specific needs of the respective country and respective sport.
Ultimately, the distribution of this IOC funding must be left to each NOC to use in different ways. For example, some pay prize money, others do not. In Germany, the DOSB ensures that Team Deutschland and its athletes have the best conditions in preparation for and during the Olympic Games. Every athlete benefits from such efforts and the strength of the Team Deutschland brand. The German House as the home of Team Deutschland, as well as many other events such as the welcome ceremony, are funded by the DOSB, too. The financial resources are also used to fund the High Performance Department of the DOSB, which works to provide the best framework for elite sport in Germany in cooperation with the National Federations, 52 weeks a year. 2. Athlete representation in the Olympic Movement: Olympic athletes are in the unique position of electing their own representatives and having an elected representative on the 15-member IOC Executive Board. The Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Kirsty Coventry, announced that an Athlete Rights and Responsibilities Declaration is currently under preparation.
The IOC is in regular contact with athletes’ representatives from around the world and has an ongoing dialogue. One of the regular calls with elected athlete representatives took place last week. Many of the athletes’ representatives were also present at a specially organised meeting in the Athletes’ Village at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang to discuss this issue, although unfortunately the German athlete representatives did not attend. The IOC President regularly meets athletes and their representatives - this month at the Asian Games and also at the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships and the FISA World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria.
After the meeting, IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) Chair Kirsty Coventry commented:
“This was a valuable meeting, and everyone agreed on the fundamental need to support athletes. In my position of Chair of the IOC AC it is important for me to continue to have these constructive discussions and hear the views of athletes globally. There will always be differing opinions on the best way to support athletes, depending on the needs of that country. Funding should continue to go to the athletes in the most effective manner possible. A finance structure should ensure fairness and universality, particularly to help the majority of athletes from smaller and less well funded National Olympic Committees. This is why the IOC uses Olympic Solidarity to distribute funds in a fair manner to athletes, whatever part of the world they are from and whatever the sport they practise.”
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Worldwide TOP Partner Alibaba Group, have launched OBS Cloud, an innovative broadcasting solution that operates entirely on the cloud, to help transform the media industry for the digital era.
Set to be in place for Tokyo 2020, OBS Cloud aims to offer all the necessary cloud components, in specialised configurations, to support the extremely demanding content production and delivery workflows of broadcasting the Olympic Games. Apart from providing increased flexibility and scalability, the use of OBS Cloud may also help with the limited time frame that broadcasters have to set up, test and commission their on-site systems in the host market.
OBS can now provide most of the visual and audio assets of the Olympic Games to all rights-holding broadcasters (RHBs) through the new cloud platform. Broadcasters can also set up their own content creation, management and distribution on the new system. They will also have, after the Games, the flexibility to move their deployment home or keep the asset within OBS Cloud for future Olympic events.
In addition, Intel, also an Olympic TOP Partner, will collaborate with Alibaba and OBS to explore a more efficient and reliable delivery pipeline of immersive media to RHBs worldwide that will improve the fan experience and bring them closer to the action via Intel’s volumetric and virtual reality technologies.
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Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS, said: “We are very pleased that Alibaba Cloud has come up with this innovative and powerful approach to Olympic broadcasting. As the host broadcaster of the Olympic Games, we at OBS see ourselves as a leader in transforming the media industry. Tokyo 2020 will be an opportunity for the International Olympic Committee to champion digital transformation in the media industry, as well as empowering broadcasters around the world with a cloud platform that delivers new possibilities for how the Games are enjoyed by fans around the world.”
Joey Tan, General Manager of Global Strategic Accounts and Sports Business Unit, Alibaba Cloud, added: “The future of the Olympic Games is in cloud technology and Alibaba Cloud is fully committed to contributing to the digital transformation of the Olympic Games through innovation. This partnership with OBS is an exciting initiative to expand the reach and accessibility of Olympic Games content and ultimately stimulate a rethink on how the media industry operatesin a digital era. We are excited to create a new standard in broadcasting and a more enjoyable experience for audiences around the world during Tokyo 2020.”
Jay Sankar, CTO and Head of Product of Intel Sports, commented: “Sports fans today are seeking more immersive and engaging experiences. Intel’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud and OBS is aimed at delivering these ground-breaking experiences to Rights-Holding Broadcasters and fans in a seamless, efficient manner over the OBS Cloud, powered by the most advanced Intel Xeon Scalable processors”. Alibaba and the Olympic Games
The partnership between Alibaba Group and the International Olympic Committee began in January 2017 when the two parties signed a long-term strategic agreement that will help transform the Olympic Games for the digital era. Alibaba is now serving as the Official “Cloud Services” and “E-Commerce Platform Services” Partner. Intel and the Olympic Games
As a Worldwide TOP Partner, Intel works with the IOC to reimagine the future of the Olympic Games through new levels of fan interaction. Intel works across the Olympic Movement and with other Olympic partners to integrate technology into many facets of the Olympic Games. Beginning with the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, the company has focused primarily on infusing its 5G platforms, VR, 3D and 360-degree content development platforms, artificial intelligence platforms and drones, along with other silicon solutions to enhance the Olympic Games.
The IOC once again expressed its sympathy for the victims and families of all those affected by the recent earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan, which has left 41 dead and caused considerable damage, with many still in temporary shelters. For this reason, the City of Sapporo, the Japanese National Olympic Committee and the IOC agreed today that the IOC would not put Sapporo on the list of candidates for the Olympic Winter Games 2026, but to continue with the close dialogue already underway for the Olympic Winter Games 2030.
The IOC expressed its understanding that recovery from the earthquake in the region should be the immediate principle focus but greatly appreciated the continued strong commitment as a future host for the Olympic Winter Games.
The announcement came today following a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, between representatives of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), the City of Sapporo, and the International Olympic Committee. It follows months of close collaboration during the Dialogue Stage of the Olympic Winter Games 2026 Candidature Process.
As part of the new Candidature Process, a one-year non-committal Dialogue Stage was introduced to provide Interested Cities and National Olympic Committees with an opportunity to interact with the IOC and discuss how hosting the Games can serve their long-term goals and leave lasting legacies.
The City of Sapporo and the Japanese NOC made it clear that they remain strongly interested in a candidature for the Olympic Winter Games 2030.
With 4.000 of the world’s best young athletes set to descend on Buenos Aires for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) this October, we take a look at some of the rising stars who are likely to shine in the Argentinian capital.
From watching Chad le Clos and Carolina Marín in Singapore to Noah Lyles and Fan Zhendong in Nanjing, each edition of the YOG provides a chance for fans to get a first glimpse of the next generation of sporting talent.
Here, we take a look at some of the young athletes who will be looking to follow a similar path as they prepare to star at Buenos Aires 2018…
Sebastián Báez Argentina, tennis
The host nation will have high hopes for rising tennis star Sebastián Báez. The 17-year-old is currently ranked number 2 in the ITF Junior World Rankings, and earlier this year was the runner-up at the Junior French Open. He is sure to be backed by vociferous support when the tournament gets underway on the clay courts of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club on 7 October, but a host of leading junior players will stand between him and the YOG gold medal. Among them will be Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Chun-hsin, who beat Báez in the Junior French Open final at Roland Garros and also claimed the junior title at Wimbledon to climb to the top of the ITF Junior World Rankings. Yuka Ueno Japan, fencing
Japan’s Yuka Ueno has made no secret of her ambitions in Buenos Aires. “I hope that I will win the gold medal at the YOG,” she said recently. “It is really a great event, where all the fencers are the best fencers in the world. Clearly, it must be very tough to get the gold medal, but this challenge makes me excited.” The 16-year-old will certainly be well equipped for the challenge; having impressively won foil gold in both the cadet (under-17) and junior (under-20) age groups at April’s Junior World Fencing Championships.
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Valentine Munezero and Penelope Musabyimana Rwanda, beach volleyball
Rwandan beach volleyball duo Valentine Munezero and Penelope Musabyimana qualified for the YOG Buenos Aires 2018 after making it to the final of the African Youth Games earlier this year in Algeria. The duo – who also clinched a historic bronze medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas – were undefeated in their group, with victories against Sierra Leone, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, before beating Morocco in the quarter-final and Egypt in the semi-final. They were eventually beaten by Mozambique in the final, despite winning the first set, but will now look to take on the best in the world in Buenos Aires. Kunlavut Vitidsarn Thailand, badminton
As the current world number 1 in the BWF Junior Rankings, Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn will be among the favourites for men’s singles gold when the badminton tournament gets underway on 7 October. The 17-year-old is already a world junior champion and has won four junior tournaments around the world this year, but he will face stiff competition in Buenos Aires. Among those looking to beat him to gold will be India’s Lakshya Sen, who inflicted a rare defeat on his Thai rival in the final of this year’s Asian Junior Championships in July. Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha China, table tennis
The succession of Chinese table tennis talent shows no signs of abating, with Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha the latest young stars to emerge – and both have already been making an impact at senior level. Wang was part of the Chinese men’s team that won gold at the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships and the 2018 Asian Games, with the 18-year-old also finishing as the runner-up at the ITTF World Tour event in Hungary earlier this year, when he was beaten only by world number 1 – and YOG Nanjing 2014 gold medallist – Fan Zhendong. Sun, meanwhile, has enjoyed even greater success, claiming the 2017 Japan Open title in her first-ever ITTF World Tour event, and climbing to a high of seventh in the senior world rankings. In an ominous warning to their YOG rivals, Wang and Sun also recently teamed up to win the Asian Games mixed title, with the duo set to pair up again in Buenos Aires.
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Lucy Li and Akshay Bhatia USA, golf
The USA will be represented by two of the most promising young golfers in the world when the men’s and women’s events tee off on 9 October. Lucy Li, who will turn 16 a week before the YOG start, was just 11 years old when she became the youngest-ever player to qualify for the US Women’s Open in 2014. Since then, she has won a host of junior events – including the 2016 Junior PGA Championship – and been on the winning US team for the Junior Ryder Cup, Junior Solheim Cup and Curtis Cup. Bhatia, meanwhile, has been making history of his own with a succession of impressive performances, including becoming the first-ever back-to-back winner of the Boys’ Junior PGA Championship. The tall left-hander secured his 2018 PGA title by holing an outlandish 40-foot eagle chip on the final hole, while he also demonstrated his credentials in team play with an unbeaten record at last year’s inaugural Junior Presidents Cup. Vivek Sagar Prasad India, hockey
Vivek Sagar Prasad will lead India’s hockey5s team in Buenos Aires, with the 18-year-old being hailed as a future star in his homeland. In January this year, the midfielder became the second youngest player ever to debut for India’s senior men’s team at just 17 years, 10 months and 22 days, and he has already played a key role in two major international tournaments. In April, he was a member of the Indian squad that finished fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, and then in June he scored the equalising goal in the final of the 2018 Champions Trophy, before India were eventually beaten 3-1 on penalties by Australia. Having already shown his skills at elite senior level, all eyes will be on Prasad in Buenos Aires to see if he can deliver a much sought-after medal for hockey-mad India. Yuleixi Angulo Ecuador, javelin
Javelin thrower Yuleixi Angulo starred at July’s South American U18 Championships in Cuenca, Ecuador, as she claimed gold with a new South American record of 54.33m. Having also finished eighth at the U18 World Championships in Nairobi last year, and making the final of the 2018 World U20 Championships in Finland, the 17-year-old has already proved her credentials on the international stage, and will surely be one to watch when the women’s javelin begins on 13 October. Terence Saramandif Mauritius, canoeing
Terence Saramandif will become the first athlete to represent Mauritius in canoeing at the YOG when he competes this October. The 16-year-old earned his place in Buenos Aires with an impressive performance at the qualifying event in Barcelona earlier this year, where he finished third in his specialty slalom event. A semi-finalist at the 2018 World Junior Canoe Slalom Championships, Saramandif also claimed gold at July’s African Youth Games in Algeria, and will now be looking to add another medal to his collection in Argentina.
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Kaylee McKeown Australia, swimming
Kaylee McKeown will be looking to follow the example of fellow Australian swimmers Emma McKeon and Kyle Chalmers, who each went on to enjoy medal success at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 after starring at the YOG in 2010 and 2014 respectively. McKeown – whose older sister Taylor won a silver medal in the pool at Rio 2016 – made her senior World Championships debut in Budapest last year and finished fourth in the 200m backstroke, setting a new junior world record in the process, before helping Australia win silver in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. She also shone at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, finishing fourth in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events to cement herself as a potential star of Buenos Aires 2018. Orsolya Toth Hungary, 3x3 basketball
Hungary’s rising basketball star Orsolya Toth became a social media sensation after starring at last year’s FIBA 3x3 U18 Europe Cup in Debrecen. The 17-year-old topped the scoring charts as she led Hungary to gold on home soil and was then named the tournament’s MVP (most valuable player); but it was when FIBA posted a video of her highlights online that she became a viral internet star. The mixtape showcased Toth’s wide range of skills and earned her thousands of new followers on social media. Now, she will be aiming to win legions of new fans by leading her team to YOG gold in Buenos Aires. Islay Watson Great Britain, windsurfing
British windsurfing sensation Islay Watson claimed gold at the Youth Sailing World Championships in July this year, and is now hoping to add a YOG medal to her collection in Buenos Aires. "Because I won the Youth World Championships this year, I think I will have a bit of a target on my back,” said the 17-year-old recently. “But the Youth Olympic Games are the icing on the cake and I couldn't have asked for a better way to round off the year.” In addition to her world title in the RS:X class, Watson also won bronze in the Techno 293 Plus European Championships in April – the class that will be contested at the YOG.
The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will span over 17 exciting days. From 24 July to 9 August 2020, with a total of 339 events in 33 sports, there will be action everywhere and plenty of innovation!
Although the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad will be held in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium on 24 July 2020, the sports action will get underway two days earlier, with the first football and softball matches. And on the day of the Ceremony itself, the public can attend the qualifying events in rowing and archery.
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Things will really heat up on 25 July, the day after the Olympic cauldron has been lit, with athletes competing in 21 sports, including shooting, archery, table tennis, judo, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, tennis and cycling. For the latter, the first day will see the men’s road race competitors heading towards the legendary Mount Fuji.
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As for the new youth- and urban-focused sports and disciplines on the programme, the basketball 3x3, skateboard and surfing competitions will also kick off during the first weekend of the Games.
“Super Saturday”
A large number of medals will be awarded on 1 August, the “Super Saturday” of the 2020 Games. It will feature no fewer than 23 sports, with new events such as the judo mixed team event, triathlon mixed team relay, and shooting trap mixed team event.
The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is expecting large crowds of spectators in the streets of the capital for the men’s marathon on 9 August, the day of the Closing Ceremony. They will be relying on the city’s experience of hosting one of the world’s biggest marathons, which regularly attracts a million spectators.
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The Tokyo 2020 organisers took a holistic approach when compiling the schedule, taking into account the technical rules and regulations of the various international federations, gender balance, the popularity of individual sports in Japan, operational considerations, athletes' experience and well-being, and the spectators and global TV audience.
I believe the Tokyo 2020 Games will generate more enthusiasm than ever. Yoshiro Mori Tokyo 2020 President
“I believe the Tokyo 2020 Games will generate more enthusiasm than ever. Starting with a softball match in Fukushima two days before the opening of the Games, until the men's marathon on the final day, a record 33 sports and 339 events will be packed into the two weeks of the Games,” said Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori.
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He added that: “In addition to prioritising the athletes' experience and well-being, both domestic and international aspects including the international federations' technical rules, gender balance and the popularity of individual sports were considered. It took more than a year-and-a-half of planning and coordination with a wide range of stakeholders. We appreciate the cooperation of the many involved in these efforts and will continue to work on further adjustments to the competition schedule.”
The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee presented significant progress towards hosting inclusive Olympic Games that use the power of sport to change the world, with several announcements at the ninth Project Review (11-12 September), including the date for the lighting of the Olympic flame, the launch of volunteer applications and confirmation of the aquatics competition schedule.
Tokyo 2020’s Olympic Games plan is really starting to take shape,” said IOC Coordination Commission Chair for Tokyo 2020, John Coates. “We are now at a point where we are working with the Organising Committee on planning on an item-by-item basis. This Project Review was an opportunity to give guidance on any subjects that needed clarification.
During the Project Review, Tokyo 2020 confirmed that the Olympic Torch Relay will begin on 12 March 2020. Not only does the lighting of the Olympic flame signal the proximity of the next Olympic Games, but it will also take on special significance for this edition of the Games, at the start of the 10th year since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami so badly affected the Tohoku area of Japan.
We hope that this symbolic act will underline the Olympic Movement’s support for the citizens of these regions, as well as allowing them to show the watching world the progress that they have made in rebuilding their lives and inspiring the local children through the Olympic valuesJohn CoatesIOC Coordination Commission Chair for Tokyo 2020
Following a six-day journey in Greece, the flame will then make its way to Japan, and will be displayed for six days in the Tohoku region, commemorating the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, before vising each of the 47 Japanese prefectures under the theme “Hope Lights Our Way”.
“We hope that this symbolic act will underline the Olympic Movement’s support for the citizens of these regions, as well as allowing them to show the watching world the progress that they have made in rebuilding their lives and inspiring the local children through the Olympic values,” Coates said.
Alongside the start date for the Olympic Torch Relay, the Organising Committee announced that volunteer sign-ups will begin on 26 September this year, providing a wonderful opportunity for people to experience the Games in a unique manner that will create lifelong memories and friends, and will be a key factor in the Games’ success.
Tokyo 2020 also released the competition schedule by session that includes the timing of the events for all of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic aquatics events, as well as revealing that a total of six Olympic softball games and one Olympic baseball game will be staged at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium.
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The location of these games further underlines the region’s continued regeneration following the destructive 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
In addition to the competition announcements, the first test event for Tokyo 2020 was being contested at the sailing venue while the Project Review was underway. This is a significant step, with sport now starting in the Olympic venues with a view to the Games.
Since the Coordination Commission meeting in July, the Organising Committee has welcomed hundreds of international journalists and broadcasters at the World Press Briefing and World Broadcaster Meeting, both of which received positive praise.
These milestones signal the transition to the delivery of events, and their successful completion bodes well for fantastic Olympic Games in less than two years, while Tokyo will this year also welcome the ANOC General Assembly, IOC Executive Board meeting and the final Coordination Commission of 2018, showing that the Olympic Movement is making its way to Japan.
