Tokyo 2020 Forms Olympic Cauldron Task Force -- On the Scene

(ATR) Games chiefs hold talks to find a solution to the gaffe that left Olympic cauldron off new national stadium design.

Guardar
Architect Kengo Kuma explains his design of the stadium during a press conference announcing new design of the national stadium in Tokyo on December 22, 2015. Japan Sports Council chose a new, slimmed down 2020 Olympic Stadium design, after an earlier version set off a row over a 2.0 billion USD price tag that would have made it the world's most expensive sports venue.   / AFP / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA        (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)
Architect Kengo Kuma explains his design of the stadium during a press conference announcing new design of the national stadium in Tokyo on December 22, 2015. Japan Sports Council chose a new, slimmed down 2020 Olympic Stadium design, after an earlier version set off a row over a 2.0 billion USD price tag that would have made it the world's most expensive sports venue. / AFP / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

(ATR) Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori met with Olympic officials Thursday in a bid to hammer out a solution to the gaffe that left the cauldron off the new national stadium design.

After talks with Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe, Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo and other officials, a decision was taken to set up a task force to come up with a cauldron plan by the end of April.

The "working team" headed by Endo will arrange where the cauldron should be placed on the stadium.

"We have to review each role to control and have responsibility," Mori told a press conference in the Japanese capital. "The cauldron is a part of the national stadium. It is not Tokyo 2020’s responsibility."

The Japan Sports Council (JSC), which is overseeing the stadium construction project, chose the revamped design of the national stadium in December but failed to include the cauldron in the proposal.

In keeping with an IOC directive, the JSC said the design of the stadium would not be changed to accommodate the cauldron. The cost and the construction timetable would also not be altered, reporters were told.

Takakuni Ikeda, a director of Japan Sports Council, said the organisation would "pull its weight" to deliver a suitable cauldron for the 2020 Olympic stadium.

Last week, Mori blamed Japanese sports minister Hiroshi Hase for the cauldron gaffe, the latest in a string of controversies to hit the organization of the Olympics. The original stadium plan was axed last summer amid ballooning costs, while a plagiarized logo was dropped a few months ago.

The IOC has given Mori permission to use the cauldron of the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, which currently resides in the Miyagi Prefecture.

There was more good news on the Tokyo Olympic revenues front on Thursday.

The organising committee announced sponsorships with three travel companies - KNT-CT Holdings, JTB and Tobu Top Tours - who become Tokyo 2020 second-tier partners.The newly-signed trio brings the total number of domestic sponsorships to 32.

Reported in Tokyo by Hironori Hashimoto, and Mark Bisson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.

Guardar

Últimas Noticias

Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022

Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022