As the coronavirus outbreak rapidly spreads, volunteer training plans for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games have been postponed. On a lighter note, the official motto for Tokyo 2020 has been revealed. Here’s the latest on these topics and much more in an all-new Olympic Update:
VOLUNTEER TRAINING FOR TOKYO 2020 POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Per The Japan Times, Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers on Saturday postponed training for their army of volunteers due to the coronavirus outbreak but reiterated that there was “no consideration” of canceling the Games.
Organizers also indicated that volunteers would be informed individually of the rescheduled dates and insisted the postponement would have no impact on the preparations for the Olympics, scheduled to start come Jul. 24.
JAPAN’S AINU DANCE DROPPED FROM OPENING CEREMONY
According to Reuters, Olympic organizers have dropped a dance by Japan’s indigenous Ainu people from the opening ceremony of this year’s Games in Tokyo.
The reason for the removal was the lack of room to fit the dance into the schedule for the opening ceremony to take place Jul. 24.
2020 GAMES’ MOTTO UNVEILED
“United by Emotion” has been revealed as the motto for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, per Japan’s news service Kyodo.
A committee comprised of former athletes and others picked the motto in the hope it will inspire people of various backgrounds to acknowledge each other and connect through the emotions evoked at the Summer Games.
The committee members included four-time Olympic medalist in swimming Takeshi Matsuda.
Organizers said the motto in English will be displayed at competition venues, on city street decorations and licensed goods as well as digital media.
The mottos for the recent summer and winter games were “A New World” in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and “Passion. Connected.” at Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.
2020 ORGANIZERS UNVEIL PLANS FOR 2URBAN FESTIVAL” EVENT
Kyodo reported that an “urban festival” where the public can get a different kind of look at various Olympic sports will be a ticketed event at this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Though the event is planned to be held in the Ariake Urban Sports Park, home to skateboarding and cycling BMX venues, and the Ariake Gymnastics Center, organizers are also considering locations where ticket-holders can get hands-on experience of some sports.
TOKYO 2020 VOWS FOR NEW RESTROOM REVOLUTION
Per Reuters, on southwestern Japan’s Miyajima island, a short walk from one of the country’s most famous ancient temple sites, there’s a brand new attraction for tourists – a state-of-the-art public toilet block nearly as big as a tennis court.
The 183 square meter facility – created jointly by the local municipality and Toto, Japan’s biggest toilet maker – is just one of the hundreds that have been spruced up across the country ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, removing old-school squat toilets to welcome foreign tourists.
With a government survey showing roughly 40% of Japan’s public restrooms hosted squat stalls in 2016, the government started a campaign to help municipalities fund conversion to sit-down toilets, anticipating Olympics tourists will explore Japan beyond Tokyo.
Motto: “Don’t pee on our gas stations, please.”
If the Tokyo Olympic Committee is looking for another motto, they could do worse than: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This worked pretty well for FDR during the depths of the Great Depression over 85 years ago.
United by emotion….deceased by coronavirus