POSTED: Thursday June 18th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tokyo 2016: firmly focused on athletes and engaging global youth

Tokyo 2016 today clearly demonstrated its focus on eli e athletes and inspiring the youth of the world.

18 June 2009, Lausanne, Switzerland – Tokyo 2016 today clearly demonstrated its focus on eli e athletes and inspiring the youth of the world as it unveiled its official exhibition stand to International Olympic Committee (IOC) Members and media in Lausanne Palace, following the 2016 Bidding Cities Briefing at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Switzerland.

For the maximum benefit of athletes, the world’s largest city is offering t e most compact Games plan in history, with 97% of venues within an 8km radius of the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Village located in the very heart of Tokyo, surrounded by greenery and Bay waterfront. Transport will be clean and efficient; facilities will be state-of-the-art and make use of the latest pioneering technology that Japan is famous for; and athletes can feel comfortable to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic or Paralympic experience in one of the safest cities in the world.

This was showcased on Thursday at the Tokyo 2016 exhibition stand, which gave a taste of some of Japan’s innovations, including digital signage that will a l Olympic and Paralympic Family members and spectators to access useful information through with IC Chip tickets; a touch-screen that allows users to explore just how compact Tokyo 2016’s Games plan really is; and virtu l reality 3 D goggles that allow the wearer to take their place at the start of the Tokyo 2016 100-metres final in the brand-new, 100,000 seat, solar-powered Olympic Stadium that will be built if Japan’s dynamic capital is awarded the Games.

In Lausanne, the IOC Museum is currently displaying an ‘Olympic Heroe ’ e hib that makes use of cartoon to immortalise legendary elite athletes, like French footballer Zinedine Zidane, helping to better relate to youth. This aligns perfectly with Tokyo 2016’s vision to engage with youth across the wor d taking advantage of popular Japanese culture, including animated heroes, manga, film, high-fashion and cutting-edge technology. This approach will allow Tokyo 2016 to reach young people on their terms and excite them about Olympic and Paralympic sport.

As an example of connecting with youth in truly innovative ways, today, a giant Tokyo 2016 ‘Gundamn’ robot superhero statue stands in Odaiba Shiokaze ark in Tokyo, in the park that will host the 2016 Olympic Beach Volleyball competition and near the beach that will stage the 2016 Triathlon and Marathon Swimming events, if Tokyo is awarded the honour of hosting the 2016 Games. Tens of thousands of young people are expected to visit it, helping to promote Tokyo 2016, its Games plan and awareness of Olympic and Paralympic sport.

Dr. Ichiro Kono, Chair and CEO of Tokyo 2016, said:

“Tokyo is setting the best possible stage to allow athletes to reach their maximum potential. We have said from the very beginning of our Bid that Tokyo 2016 will be the most-athlete focused Games ever. We can also guarantee to make a major impact on the youth of the world, connecting them with sport by tapping into the global appeal of Japanese youth culture. Athletes will become youth heroes, like they are for many youngsters in Japan.

“Through our simple but innovative exhibition today, we hope to have given IOC Members a taste of what is in store for the Olympic and Paralympic Family at the very heart of Tokyo in 2016. It gave us an excellent opportunity to engage with the IOC Members after our presentation yesterday, and we are truly grateful for their time and strong interest that was shown in our unique Games concept.

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Keywords · Tokyo 2016 · Olympic Bids · IOC

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