Bid City Blog -- Tokyo Enjoys Smooth Ride

Imagination needed: a stadium goes here. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix)The breeze in the Tokyo air Monday could well be the cliché collective sigh of relief from leaders of the Tokyo bid for the 2016 Olympics.

Ever since the arrival of the IOC team seven days ago, organizers seem to have avoided any pratfalls, executing to near perfection the movement of the VIPs in the complicated urban sprawl of Tokyo. Weather was passable for the venue tour day, grey and blustery, but failed to cause problems for the timing. Bid CEO Ichiro Kono says the IOC trip ended slightly ahead of schedule.

Imagination Needed for Venue Presentations

While the IOC is praising the information it received from the Tokyo bid, we hope it was above the minimal level provided to the press during its separate venue tour. Emphasis seemed to be put on gadgetry above venue details, as was the case with a visit to the Big Sight convention center, location for the Main Press Center.

Instead of any explanation to the press as to how the cavernous building might work for the media, from the start the visit becomes a showcase for smart card credential technology and electric scooters, neither of which are certain for use in 2016.

No look inside the halls where Electric scooter race for the media at the Tokyo Big Sight – but not information on home the venue for the Main Press Center might work. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix)the MPC would be housed was possible due to a massive trade show under way, but neither was much effort made to explain more about the facility.

At a visit to the vast open space planned for the Olympic Stadium, it was gadget over substance once more. IOC delegates and media checked out the site wearing a set of electronic headgear that offered a video game-like presentation of the stadium, a perspective that changed as the wearer’s head turned. A breathless announcer’s voice as part of the soundtrack made the presentation more cartoon-like.

The only expert on site for the press to speak to was the bid technology leader – about the goggles. Not a stadium expert to be found.

Ishihara Speaks for Tokyo Bid

The other cities in the 2016 race have surely set their news searches to look for stories about Shintaro Ishihara, the frequently outspoken governor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. His comments last week that appeared to minimize the harshness of Japanese colonial treatment of Korea were not news, but examples of the way his unwavering nationalistic views could saddle the bid with controversy if he fails to hold his tongue.

He is the leader of the bid – a point reinforced Sunday at the closing press conference. Ishihara was seated at the center of the table and spoke first. Bid CEO Kono was two seats away to Ishihara’s left, while Japanese NOC President Tsunekazu Takeda was a few seats to the right.

The top table for the Tokyo bid at the press conference also included Olympians and bid committee members Yuko Arakida, Mikako Kotani as well as Paralympian Mayumi Narita. Japanese IOC members Shunichiro Okano and Chiharu Igaya were are also included in the press conference, both asked to speak, as was JOC President Vice President Tomiaki Fukuda, who coordinated the involvement of the country’s sports federations.

Police Duck Security Briefing

Security was the top item on the agenda for the IOC’s final day of briefings with Toshiro Yonemura, superintendent general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, one of those reporting to the commission. He gave a 10-minuted presentation Governor Ishihara and Olympian Mihako Kotani at the closing press conference. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix)in good English.

But his no-show at the lunchtime press briefing Sunday was an own goal for Tokyo, leaving journalists in the dark about the extent of the bid’s security arrangements and costings. A senior 2016 official later told ATR the city’s police department had not been willing to send a representative.

It was left to Yosuke Fujiwara, senior executive officer for Tokyo 2016, to answer reporters’ questions as best he could. He confirmed that the Japanese government would cover all the security costs but did not have figures to hand.

He said the city’s staging of major international events, including co-hosting the FIFA 2002 World Cup, the G8 Summit and the Tokyo Marathon over the past three years, had given the country plenty of experience in security issues. Last month, two million spectators turned out to watch the city’s marathon, which involved 35,000 runners and 15,000 volunteers.

Fujiwara noted the ongoing terrorism threat to international events worldwide, adding that “a dedicated security department will be informed of any potential threat to ensure the maximum level of Games security.”

Press Hospitality Top Notch

The 150 press and broadcast journalists who covered the IOC Evaluation Commission’s visit to Tokyo were well looked after by Tokyo 2016. The press room set up on the 49th floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower next to the Grand Hyatt Hotel offered a stunning view out to the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium, with the landmark Tokyo Tower lit up in the bid’s colors after sunset.

The center was spacious and well-equipped, with plenty of computer terminals, free newspapers and an interactive touch-screen guide to the city and venues outlined in the candidature A football match was part of the hospitality offered to the international media. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix)file. The free snack bar kept journalists fed and watered and the briefing room was a short stroll away. Over the four days of pressers, there were few hiccups in the simultaneous translation of Japanese to English for the small group of international journalists covering the commission’s visit.

The press conference schedule was revamped after a mishap at the Thursday evening briefing when Ishihara was initially prevented from answering a sensitive question concerning comments he had previously made denying Japan’s alleged atrocities against Korea during its colonial rule of the country.

Briefings Friday and Saturday went much more smoothly thanks to a revamped format, with bid consultant Jon Tibbs moderating a panel of bid city officials both evenings and managing to get informative comments from them. The pressers did not drag and journalists expressed satisfaction.

IOC Commission Members to London, Then Rio

Three members of the IOC panel studying Tokyo’s 2016 bid were in the air Monday, leaving Japan to attend to more Olympic business in London this week.

Commission head Nawal el Moutawakel and Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli are part of the IOC coordination commission for London 2012. The group begins its first check-up on Games preparations in the British capital on Tuesday; another is held in the fall. Craig Reedie, IOC member for Britain, will also be involved in the two days of meetings.

The trio will continue their globetrotting later in the week when they fly to Rio de Janeiro to prepare for the IOC Evaluation Commission’s four-day inspection of the 2016 bid city beginning April 29.

With reporting from Mark Bisson and Ed Hula in Tokyo.

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