Tokyo 2020 one year on: IOC thanks the people of Tokyo and Japan
The Olympic spirit took centre stage one more time in Tokyo today, as the Thank You Tokyo! event engaged the local public in a day full of sport, emotion and entertainment.
The event was organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japanese Olympic Committee. It included a series of sports initiations and demonstrations from some of the world’s top athletes, as well as a commemorative ceremony to thank the people of Tokyo and Japan for making the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 a success. Postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were held with almost no spectators.
Around 18,000 people, including many families, gathered outside the National Stadium to experience sport and Olympic-themed cultural activities.
Participants were invited to try climbing, athletics, skateboarding – a sport that made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 – and breaking, which will feature for the first time at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“I think urban sports brought a whole new facet to the Olympics,” said Japanese break dancer Shigekix. “We’ve been doing this all along, but it was really nice to see the positive reception to the whole street culture developing as a competition. And as someone who is part of that culture, I was proud and full of joy at the sight of it all.”
Photo opportunities with Olympians attracted crowds, and featured Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Sydney McLaughlin and Neeraj Chopra and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers.
“It feels amazing being back,” said McLaughlin, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist in the 400m hurdles. “It's really cool just being able to relive everything that happened last year, and just kind of seeing the stadium again is giving back all the chills that I had when I first walked in here. So I'm really excited to be back.”
Children enjoyed getting their faces and nails painted with the Olympic colours, and witnessed a painting performance by Paralympian and artist Gregory Burns. Crowds gathered at the Tokyo Pride House booth, where they were able to learn more about the LGBTQ community from LGBTQ Olympian and IOC Young Leader Javier Raya.
“The kids had great fun,” said one mother attending the event. “We felt even closer to the Olympics today.”
Following the sports initiations, close to 14,500 people – winners of a ticket lottery – gathered at the National Stadium, where a commemorative ceremony celebrated those at the heart of the Olympic Games: the athletes. The atmosphere went up a notch as athletes and Olympians entered the field of play, and friendly matches between the men’s and women’s rugby teams from Fiji and Japan animated the venue.
Gymnast and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Elisa Hammerle mesmerised the crowd with a stunning “gymnastic clinic” beam performance, which she commented on herself while performing.
An obstacle relay brought even more excitement to the stadium, with athletes Jeremy Dodson (SAM, athletics, 200m), Nicola Olyslagers (née McDermott – AUS, athletics, women's high jump), Lea Sprunger (SUI, athletics, women's 400m hurdles), Molly Seidel (USA, athletics, women’s marathon), Bashir Abdi (BEL, athletics, men’s marathon), Nozomi Tanaka (athletics, women's 1,500m), Takatoshi Abe (JPN, athletics, men’s 400m hurdles) and Hibiki Tsuha (JPN, athletics, long jump) racing alongside Tokyo 2020 mascots Miraitowa and Someity.
A javelin contest followed, which included impressive performances by Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and Olympian Haruka Kitaguchi. The event closed with an exhilarating show of breaking skills by Shigekix (JPN), Ram (JPN), Ami (JPN), Ayumi (JPN), Jeffrey Louis (USA) and Alessandra Cortesia (ITA).
Tokyo 2020 volunteers then entered the stadium, greeted with a warm round of applause.
“Today, I would like to express the deep gratitude and admiration of the entire Olympic Movement to all of you – the Japanese people who made the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 such a resounding success,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, who addressed the crowd via a video message.
Looking back at the Games, he said:
“Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, seeing everyone united in Tokyo was truly magical. The athletes expressed their gratitude and responded with outstanding performances. They amazed us with their response to all the challenges and adversity. They showed us that no matter what obstacles we might face, we can only go faster, only aim higher, only become stronger, if we stand together – in solidarity.
“Just like the athletes, all of you demonstrated our new Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together. We did it like and for the athletes. We did it – together.”
Olympic memories were already brought back to Tokyo the day before the events, when the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cauldron was unveiled in Ariake – where it had been displayed during the Games. Lit over a year ago by Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, it sent a strong message of hope to the pandemic-stricken world. Today, it is a symbol of the significance of those historic Games and the strong legacy that they have created for their hosts.
The Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon, hosted by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation as part of the Tokyo 2020 one-year anniversary, took place in parallel to the activities, with around 15,000 people taking part. Going forward, it will be an annual event to recognise the Tokyo 2020 legacy.