So, the next Olympics will be held in 2020 in Japan. Dates of the Games: from July 24 to August 9. This will be the 32nd Olympic Games. Applications for the event were submitted several years ago. As a result, the three most likely candidate cities were identified: Japanese Tokyo, Turkish Istanbul and Spanish Madrid. Tokyo eventually became the host of the 2020 Games. This city has already hosted the Olympic Games once, back in 1964.
What is known about the future Olympics in Tokyo
Details of the Tokyo Olympics have not yet been disclosed. We only know that the International Olympic Committee has decided to include new sports in the program of the upcoming summer games: baseball, wrestling and squash. Later in Lausanne it was decided to add several more types to the list of games. As a result, the program of the Tokyo Olympics will be replenished with fifteen new disciplines.
Two new distances have been added in swimming: 800 and 1500 meters. The 4x100 mixed relay will appear. The same team competition is included in the athletics program. In basketball, a three-on-three competition format will appear. In fencing, the team tournament will delight fans. Cycling will be replenished with “Madison”. Team competitions will appear in archery, triathlon, table tennis and judo.
Certain disciplines will become “female-specific”. We are talking about shooting, sailing, and some weight categories in boxing, where previously only men competed. One men's weightlifting weight has been eliminated for "gender equality."
Previously, the International Olympic Committee included softball, baseball, surfing, rock climbing, karate, and skateboarding in the program of the Tokyo Olympics.
The IOC representative believes that the new disciplines will make the upcoming Olympics more exciting. The Games in Tokyo will become more “younger”, more “urban”. They will attract the attention of female participants.
Mascots of the 2020 Olympics
Figures made in the style of traditional Japanese anime have been chosen as the mascots of the upcoming Games. The figurines have a pink and blue checkered pattern. This decision was made based on the results of a vote that was held among students of several thousand schools in Japan. This method of determining the Olympic mascot was used for the first time in the history of the Olympic movement.
During the competition, at least two thousand options for mascots were considered. As a result, only three images were selected from this variety. They were the ones who were sent to trial by junior school students in Japanese schools. Talismans based on the country's national beliefs also made it to the finals of the competition, but the children preferred talismans based on modern animation.
Future talismans will be decorated with a pattern in the national Ichimatsu style. This checkered design was introduced into art during the Edo period (1603 - 1868). Images of the mascot were also used in the round emblem of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Preparation for the Olympics
Japan is seriously preparing for the sporting event. Here they decided to take into account all the previous mistakes that were made during sports competitions. For example, signs in English will appear on the streets. Otherwise, Europeans will have problems finding their way around Tokyo. It is very difficult to find the Latin alphabet in a Japanese city; almost all inscriptions are made in hieroglyphs. The organizers of the Olympics will pay special attention to airports and taxi rental places.
The countdown to the sports festival has already begun. The organizers of the Games presented the anthem of the future tournament to the public. This is an updated version of the anthem performed at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Japan is also preparing for increased load on all major modes of transport. An action took place in the country, during which employees of several hundred companies worked not in offices, but at home.
However, reports are increasingly appearing online that Japan is falling behind the plan to prepare infrastructure for the Games. This applies in particular to objects related to sailing. The International Sailing Federation expressed hope that Tokyo will be able to avoid the mistakes made by the organizers of the Olympics in Brazil, who had problems with the arrangement of the water area.
The organizers of the Olympics promise spectators a unique experience of participating in spectacular events. In particular, fans should see driverless cars, as well as volunteer robots.
TOKYO 2020:
OLYMPICS OF THE FUTURE
When the 18th Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games opened in Tokyo in 1964, the whole world was already talking about Japan. After all, a few days before the official opening of the Olympics, the Japanese launched the first Shinkansen line, whose trains could carry capital passengers to the city of Osaka at an incredible speed of 210 km/h. Therefore, it is not surprising that already three years before the 2020 Olympics, Japanese organizers promise that the games in Tokyo will be the most innovative in history.
Approved design of the new National Stadium by architect Kengo Kuma, 2014
Japan is one of only three East Asian countries to have ever hosted an Olympic competition. But judging by the number of times the games were held on the Japanese islands, we can say that it overtook South Korea and China a long time ago. Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagano - The Olympic Games in Japan are famous for their high level of preparation and hospitality. “Tokyo will welcome you in a special way. In Japanese, we call it “omotenashi” - the spirit of selfless hospitality that is passed down from generation to generation and is deeply connected to our culture,” promised Christel Takigawa, a Japanese television presenter, at the presentation of Tokyo as a candidate city for the IOC session in Buenos. Aires in September 2013.
Many objects of the future Olympics are divided into two zones by location. In addition to the National Stadium, the Heritage Zone will host several sports grounds where competitions in athletics, football, handball, karate, boxing, cycling and horse riding will be held. Almost all the objects in this zone were left to Tokyo as a legacy from the 1964 Olympics.
However, the construction of the new National Olympic Stadium is not going entirely smoothly. The fact is that the world famous Briton Zaha Hadid won the first competition among architects. The construction of a stadium according to her design would cost the Japanese three billion dollars, which is, for example, more than three times the cost of the Olympic stadium in London. In addition to the high cost, there were also complaints about the project's design, and in the end, a group of eminent Japanese architects filed a petition to close the construction. Although the project helped Tokyo win the battle to host the Olympics in 2013, architect Arata Isozaki called it boring and "like a turtle waiting for Japan to be flooded before it can swim away."
Japanese architect Arata Isozaki called Zaha Hadid's Olympic Stadium design boring and "like a turtle waiting for Japan to be flooded before it can swim away."
Taking all the circumstances into account, in 2014 it was decided to hold a repeat competition, in which the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma won with a project worth one and a half billion dollars, and construction, albeit with a slight delay, began. The new National Stadium will be built in the center of Tokyo next to Meiji Park, and its design will be designed to maximize unity with nature - thousands of plants will be planted on the multi-layered wooden eaves of the building.
Many structures in another zone, the “Tokyo Bay Zone,” have yet to be built by 2020. There will be competitions in water sports, volleyball, shooting and many others. The Olympic Village will be located there, on Harumi Island. The project, consisting of residential buildings, a swimming pool and jogging tracks, is a simulation of the society of the future, which, according to the organizers, will be distinguished by its respect for the environment. After the completion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the village will be transformed into a modern residential complex.
The 2020 Olympics promises to be not only environmentally friendly, but also the most innovative. In the Olympic Village, as well as at airports and other points in the city, a wide variety of robots are deployed to serve Tokyo residents and visitors, including the elderly and people with disabilities. They will help carry things, translate speech and texts into different languages, show the way and lead excursions.
Future location of 2020 Olympics venues: heritage area and Tokyo Bay area
@P.I.C.S
One of the goals of the Olympic organizers is to facilitate communication between foreign guests from other countries, as 40 million tourists are expected in Japan in 2020. The government scientific organization NICT has developed an interpreting application called VoiceTra. You just need to say a phrase - the device will immediately provide a translation in 31 languages, including Russian. VoiceTra can already be installed on your smartphone for free. And Panasonic also came up with the TranslLet’s system for displaying signs and menus in different languages through multi-colored 2D codes and Light ID technology for reading information through light sources using a smartphone camera.
The Japanese place great emphasis on a high-quality navigation system. For example, the innovative QZSS satellite system will allow receiving GPS signal data on the location of an object with an accuracy of one to three centimeters. One of the satellites has already been launched, and by 2018 there will be four of them, and they will begin their work. By 2020, a high-speed Internet system will also start.
Self-driving taxis will also work according to QZSS data. The companies DeNA and ZMP are already conducting tests to release them on the roads of Tokyo by 2020. A robot taxi can be called using a regular smartphone. The car will not only arrive on time to the minute, but, as has long been customary in Japan, it will open the door itself and deliver you to your destination along the shortest route. The sensors will allow the car to avoid accidents.
When it became known that Tokyo would host the 2020 Summer Olympics, many calmed down and believed that the Japanese would succeed without any difficulties. Japan is a country where high technology is developed like nowhere else in the world, where tens of millions of people go down the subway every day, but at the same time everything works like clockwork. The same applies to almost all areas of life in Japan, where everything is subject to clear rules. Perhaps Tokyo is generally the busiest metropolis in the world with an excellent transport system. The incredible energy of the city is combined with calm and confidence in your own safety. Locals are traditionally polite and ready to help with any question, and good food completes the impression of the country.
It would seem that the Japanese should have prepared for the Olympics at the highest level, putting all the facilities in order long before the start of the Games in July 2020. But just two years before the start of the Summer Olympics, Tokyo has huge problems with infrastructure; the organizers are under pressure from the IOC, environmental protection, health and social services. How did Japan get to this point?
The IOC has screwed up again
Probably, without the “help” of the IOC, Tokyo would already be ready for the Olympics. The fact is that the International Olympic Committee has recently been actively fighting to reduce the costs of organizing both the winter and summer Games. Actually, this is why in recent years the IOC has faced the problem of a shortage of cities ready to host the Olympics. Most governments have realized that such activities leave a hole in the federal budget the size of the Mariana Trench. The electorate becomes dissatisfied, and agitated people can sometimes cause a lot of problems for the government. At least in some countries. Remember all the recent Games. Each of them was accompanied by major scandals.
Last December, the IOC took stock and decided that it would be a good idea to reduce the costs of organizing the Tokyo Olympics by one and a half billion dollars. Obviously, this led to missed deadlines for the construction of key facilities. Thus, the main stadium is still in an unclear status. Construction is expected to be completed by November 2019, but that is unless the IOC issues another budget review.
IOC member: Tokyo 2020 organizing committee needs to start answering questions
A worker committed suicide after working 190 hours.
All the events described above led to the fact that construction companies began to experience enormous pressure and began to exploit workers to the maximum. One of them could not withstand the pressure in March last year and committed suicide. In one month he worked 190 hours. Once again - 190! The 23-year-old young man was responsible for quality control of construction projects at the stadium. His parents are trying to get compensation from the government and have already successfully filed a petition, labeling the case as "death due to overwork", which the Japanese also call "karoshi". So, “karoshi” occurs when a person works 80 or more hours per month.
The worker's body was found in the mountains several weeks after his disappearance. In his suicide note, he admitted that he was physically and emotionally crushed. It was later discovered that massive recycling incidents occurred at most construction sites in Tokyo.
The International Sailing Federation criticized the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee
“Preparation is at least a year behind”
The International Sailing Federation also expressed serious concern about the lag in preparations. They said that Tokyo is at least a year behind schedule. Test sailing competitions should take place this fall, but there are serious doubts that the Japanese will be able to prepare the necessary infrastructure. You probably remember what problems Rio had with the water area, where the water was of an unknown color, and some bacteria were constantly found there. The sailing federation expressed hope that Tokyo will avoid the mistakes of its Brazilian colleagues.
The chairman of the IOC Coordination Committee, John Coates, decided to completely finish off the poor Japanese, who at a meeting in Tokyo called on the organizing committee of the 2020 Games to respond to all criticism and questions as soon as possible. The tone of the official’s statement makes it clear how disappointed he is with the current situation.
“Now I can tell you in a friendly way that there will be even more questions. More than 200 representatives of National Olympic Committees will visit Tokyo in November. They want detailed information, you must be prepared to answer questions that arise. If you don't provide answers, then there will be much less confidence in Tokyo's readiness for the Olympic Games."
Actually, at that moment it will no longer be about confidence, but about whether the 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo at all. Although it is not clear where to transfer it in a year and a half. Oh yes, there is London and its legacy in 2012. Why not a candidate? It was not possible to get the World Cup, but the Olympics will be held.
But the organizers of the Olympic Games in Tokyo initially promised all spectators a unique experience of visiting the Games, which had never happened before. Fans were to be greeted by volunteer robots, driverless cars and buses, and much, much more from the high-tech world of Japanese advanced developments. But will all this make sense with such a bunch of problems?
Many countries competed to host the 32nd Summer Olympics, but ultimately the real competition was between three cities: Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo. It was these cities that were allowed to make it to the final vote.
How the site of the 2020 Olympics was chosen
As a result, the right to host the 32nd Olympic Games fell to the Land of the Rising Sun - Tokyo received about 60 votes, which was almost twice the number of votes cast for Istanbul. It is noteworthy that it was Japan that was the first of all Asian countries to host the Olympic Games in 1964, thereby having the opportunity to recover in the eyes of other states after losing the devastating Second World War.
On September 7, 2013, at its 125th session, the International Olympic Committee officially declared Tokyo the capital of the 2020 Olympic Games. It is surprising that the 32nd Olympic Games will not be the first for Japan - these will be the fourth games that this country will host. Previously, the Olympic Games were held in Sapporo in 1974, in Nagano in 1998 and in the capital of Japan itself - Tokyo in 1964. It is also worth noting that neither Spain nor Turkey have ever held the Summer Olympic Games, although the cities of Madrid and Istanbul have declared several once.
Why Japan won by such a margin in the vote is quite understandable - the Land of the Rising Sun is not only excellently economically developed, but is also one of the safest countries on the planet. And security has recently become, perhaps, the most important criterion in choosing the host of the Olympic Games.
Date and time of the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics
It is already known that the ceremony opening will take place on July 24, 2020 . The closing ceremony will take place in exactly 16 days, that is, on August 9, 2020. The Paralympic Games will begin on August 25 and will last until September 6, 2020. The estimated number of countries that will take part in the 32nd Summer Olympic Games is 205. The competition program remains almost unchanged, with one exception - the 2020 Olympic program will include 5 sports that are not quite traditional for the Olympic Games: karate, surfing, baseball , skateboarding and rock climbing. Moreover, the IOC members unanimously supported the inclusion of these sports in the 32nd Games. However, it should be noted that such an unusual competition program was developed specifically for Tokyo and will not be valid for other countries.
The opening and closing ceremonies of the 32nd Olympic Games will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. This Olympic stadium has already hosted games - it was within its walls that the 1964 games were held - and, as it turns out, it will host it again in the future in 2020. It will be modernized and rebuilt into an ultra-modern stadium that will meet all international requirements for hosting the Olympic Games. During the games, competitions in sports such as athletics, football and rugby will take place directly at the stadium itself. In total, competitions in 28 sports will be held at the Olympic Games, and 22 at the Paralympic Games.
The emblem of the 32nd Summer Olympic Games has not yet been presented. It is known that the official presentation of the emblems for the games in Tokyo took place in July 2015. Their creator was the rather famous Japanese designer Kenjiro Sano, who was soon accused of plagiarism by a designer from Belgium. According to him, Sano used his idea, slightly transforming it and presenting it as his own. After this statement, the IOC, in order to avoid a growing scandal, announced that the emblems created by Kenjiro would not be considered as the logo of the 32nd Olympic Games.
According to experts, holding future games in Tokyo will cost at least 16-17 billion dollars, which is several times the amount originally planned. For comparison, it should be noted that the 31st Olympic Games in Rio cost about 4 billion dollars, while the 2014 Winter Games in Russia took away more than fifty billion dollars from the state budget. Therefore, it is safe to say, based on a rough estimate of costs, that the 2020 Olympic Games will be spectacular.
It is noteworthy that the Olympic venues will be located in the city center, at a distance from each other not exceeding 8 km. As the competition commission for the 2020 Olympic Games states, “The Olympics will be held with the greatest comfort for athletes.” Tokyo Olympic venues include the Legacy Zone, Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, Olympic Stadium, Tokyo Sports Palace, Imperial Palace Zone, Nippon Budokan, Japanese Imperial Palace Gardens, Tokyo International Forum, Sumida, Olympic Park, Odaiba, Yumoneshima, Ariake and more .
The 32nd Summer Olympic Games will begin in almost 4 years, but the epic selection of cities for the right to become the host of this main sporting event started already at the end of the summer of 2011. It was then that European, Asian and American states submitted applications that they were ready to become hosts of the 2020 Olympic Games. After this, the International Olympic Committee carried out a huge analytical work, as a result of which 5 main cities of contenders were identified: Madrid, Tokyo, Istanbul, Baku, Doha. The Azerbaijani and Qatari capitals were subsequently eliminated from the list of main candidates in May 2013.
How did you choose the location for the 2020 Olympics?
The intrigue of determining the hostess of the 2020 Olympic Games came to naught on September 7, 2013. It was then, during the voting at the next IOC session in Argentina, that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be held in Tokyo. Interestingly, this is not the first time the Olympic flame will be lit in the capital of Japan. In 1964, the Asian metropolis already hosted the Olympic Games, and the older generation of Japanese still remembers this grandiose event. By the way, after the world media trumpeted this news, Tokyo residents went out en masse to celebrate, because they would witness a truly majestic action.
So, what do ordinary people know about Tokyo on the eve of the main event of the four-year anniversary? The administrative center of the Land of the Rising Sun is called one of the most developed megacities on the globe. It is famous for its excellent sports infrastructure, which was undoubtedly taken into account when pronouncing the verdict on the capital of the future Olympic Games. In addition, Japan has traditionally been one of the countries that leads in security issues.
How the Japanese took the relay at Rio
A very impressive Shinzo Abe appeared in public in the image of the popular computer game character Super Mario, joking that otherwise he simply would not have appeared on time at the ceremony.
About Tokyo as the site of the Olympics
Since 2013, Japan began preparing for this grandiose sporting event. Initially, game organizers expected to spend approximately $2.5 billion on this event, which looked very economical compared to past Olympic Games. However, the cost of the event is now approximately $15 billion. Organizing Committee officials say the increase in costs was driven by demands for increased security in light of the terrorist threat.
Currently, work on the construction of new sports facilities is in full swing. However, even without that, Japan has many facilities where various competitions of the highest level can be held. In particular, the Meiji Shrine will host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as athletics competitions, football and rugby matches. The perimeter of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo will be given over to cyclists and cyclists. A weightlifting tournament will take place within the walls of the Tokyo International Forum, and the strongest amateur boxers from all over the world will sort things out in Ryogoku Kokugikan. Volleyball teams will compete for medals in the Olympic Park. At the Ariake Gymnastics Center, masters of trampolining, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics will demonstrate their skills. Odaibo Marine Park will host swimming and triathlon competitions. Other water sports will take place at the Olympic Aquatic Centre. Basketball and badminton tournaments are scheduled in the Youth Parade Arenas “A” and “B”. Archery and equestrian competitions are planned on Dream Island. Identification of the strongest in other sports will take place in sports facilities under construction that will be erected on the eve of the Olympics.
We can only hope that on the eve of the 2020 Olympics, doping and other scandals that occurred before the games in Rio will not happen. I would like all attention to be focused on the skill of the athletes, and not on political squabbles. In any case, Tokyo residents want to see all the strongest athletes in their city.
