Over 30,000 Lanterns Light Up the Bay in Support of Tokyo 2020

More than 30,000 lanterns lit up Tokyo Bay yesterday in a show of support for Japan’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The annual Lantern by the Bay Festival takes place at the Odaiba Marine Park, the proposed site of the Triathlon and Marathon Swimming competitions, and was billed as a Tokyo 2020 support event this year, demonstrating yet again the Japanese people’s passion for promoting sport and their desire to host Games of excellence, excitement and respect.

Japanese Olympic swimming champion Ai Shibata, the Athens 2004 women's 800-metre freestyle gold medallist, led the light-up ceremony, while supporters unveiled a special illumination for Tokyo 2020 – the bid emblem crafted in lights, symbolising the world united as one, the aspirations to bring the 2020 Games to Tokyo, and the anticipation of a global festival dedicated to sport, culture and world peace.

Masa Takaya

Communications Manager, Japanese Olympic Committee

Acting Communications Director, Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee

Hiromi Sato

Manager, International Communications, Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee

Phone: 03-6279-0049 / Fax: 03-6279-0157 / pressoffice@tokyo2020.jp

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