A boost for volunteering
The Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998 helped to change attitudes to volunteering in Japan and were followed by an increase in the number of volunteer groups in the city, many of which are still running today.
Ranging in age from 16 to 83, over 32,000 volunteers were involved in the organisation of the Games. Over 15,000 assisted with the Cultural Programme, and yet more opened their doors to visitors for homestay programmes or helped in other ways. They were organised into volunteer groups, each with their own chain of command, and were run from a volunteer centre that opened in the year of the Games and closed only in 2012. The Team ’98 network was also created to provide Games volunteers with a forum to discuss and exchange ideas.
Performing a total of 18 different roles, including those of guides, drivers and event stewards, they helped change the image of volunteering in Japan. Previously seen as something of a thankless task, it was now viewed as a rewarding activity for people with initiative.
Interest was especially high in Nagano, where volunteer groups grew in number after the Games. A survey of 45 Japanese cities conducted by Utsunomiya City Council in 2016 found that Nagano had the highest concentration of volunteer organisations, at 3.4 per 1,000 people.
Many of these groups continue to apply the expertise and knowledge they acquired at Nagano 1998. They include the M-tomo Group, which provides support for events hosted at the M-Wave, the venue for the speed skating events at the Games. Though some of the group’s original volunteers have retired, new people have joined, and it now has around 200 members. Other groups engage in the annual Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon and the national junior high school ice skating championships.
Performing a total of 18 different roles, including those of guides, drivers and event stewards, they helped change the image of volunteering in Japan. Previously seen as something of a thankless task, it was now viewed as a rewarding activity for people with initiative.
Interest was especially high in Nagano, where volunteer groups grew in number after the Games. A survey of 45 Japanese cities conducted by Utsunomiya City Council in 2016 found that Nagano had the highest concentration of volunteer organisations, at 3.4 per 1,000 people.
Many of these groups continue to apply the expertise and knowledge they acquired at Nagano 1998. They include the M-tomo Group, which provides support for events hosted at the M-Wave, the venue for the speed skating events at the Games. Though some of the group’s original volunteers have retired, new people have joined, and it now has around 200 members. Other groups engage in the annual Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon and the national junior high school ice skating championships.