Tokyo 2020 Announces Torchbearers for Grand Start of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay

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Relay route and other details, including commemorative merchandise, also unveiled

Tokyo, 17 December 2019 – The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

(Tokyo 2020) today announced details of the torchbearers who will participate in the "Grand Start" of the

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay, due to take place at the J-Village National Training Centre in Fukushima

on 26 March 2020. Other details of the Relay, including the route, the special pose that will be adopted

by torchbearers when passing the Flame and samples of the licensed merchandise being produced to

commemorate it were also unveiled.

Grand Start Torchbearers for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay

The torchbearers at the Grand Start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will comprise members of

the Japan Women's National Soccer Team which won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany,

the first ever Japanese soccer team to become FIFA world champions.

The fighting spirit the team displayed during the World Cup inspired many of the people struggling in the

aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which had struck the country earlier that year. Theirachievement was recognised by the conferring of a National Honour Award on the whole team in August

2011. Only 30 years after the formation of the first Japan women’s soccer team in 1981, the national team

had become world champions. The following year, they won silver medals as runners-up at the Olympic

Games London 2012 and reached the finals of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015.

Tokyo 2020 will select the torchbearers for the main section of the Olympic Torch Relay from a shortlist

of applicants which will be submitted by four Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners and a

single Prefectural Task Force. The selection schedule will be as follows:

 From 12 December 2019: the four Presenting Partners will make advance announcements by email to the applicants selected to be torchbearers

 From 17 December 2019: the Prefectural Task Force will make a similar advance announcement

by email to their selected applicants

 From 25 December 2019: Tokyo 2020 will make a formal announcement to selected applicants

advising them of the prefecture they will participate in and the date (details of some of their selected

torchbearers might be disclosed by the Presenting Partners and/or the Prefectural Task Force)

 Late February – early March 2020: Tokyo 2020 will advise selected torchbearers in which city/town

they will carry the torch

 From early March 2020: Tokyo 2020 will inform selected torchbearers of their time slots two or

three weeks prior to their scheduled dates.

Tokyo 2020 will disclose the list of each day’s torchbearers to the media around two weeks prior to each

date.

Further details of the Olympic Torch Relay Route

Commencing its journey on 26 March 2020 from the J-Village National Training Centre in Fukushima

Prefecture, the Olympic flame will traverse all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, passing by many of the nation’s

most famous and cherished sights for a period of 121 days, serving as a symbol of the Olympic Games

and visiting 858 local municipalities along the way. The Torch will be carried by torchbearers on most

days; where necessary it will be transported by boat, train or cable car between segments.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay route will take in World Heritage Sites such as Mount Fuji and

Itsukushima shrine and other historic locations and popular places, including favourite local community

spots, with the charm of each being showcased during the Relay. The Relay will also take in areas that

are continuing to recover from natural disasters, such as the Tohoku region, which was struck by the 2011

earthquake and tsunami.

Further details of the Olympic Torch Relay route including starting and finishing points, the transportation

arrangements during special legs and the celebration sites along the way are available at

https://tokyo2020.org/en/special/torch/olympic/map/index.html.

Rehearsal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay

Tokyo 2020 will hold a rehearsal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay; details are as follows:

Date: 15 February 2020 from morning until 19:00

Location: Tokyo (Hamura-city, Kokubunji-city, Hachioji-city)

Content: Rehearsal of Olympic Torch Relay on public roads and of celebratory events

Organiser: Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee

Co-organiser: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Torch Relay Task Force

Note: date, locations and content are subject to confirmation. Full details, including advance notice of any

traffic restrictions, will be announced nearer the time by the task force.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay "Torch Kiss" Poses Recommended by Tokyo 2020

Tokyo 2020 has created three poses that can be adopted by torchbearers during the "Torch Kiss" – the

passing of the Flame from one torchbearer to another. These aim to embody the Tokyo 2020 Olympic

Torch Relay concept "Hope Lights Our Way". The poses have been labelled "2020", "Connecting With

Each Other" and "Hope Lights Our Way". Torchbearers can select one of these or adopt any other pose

that best reflects their own feelings on the day.

Tokyo 2020 social media photo contest

Tokyo 2020 and the four Presenting Partners will host a photo contest via Tokyo 2020 social media,

Twitter and Instagram. Members of the public will be invited to submit photos with the hashtag

#HopeLightsOurWay (in Japanese: #みんなの聖火) incorporating themes suggested by each of the

Partners, such as local scenic spots and messages of support to torchbearers. A gift will be given to 200

selected contributors. Candidates must be resident in Japan and the winners’ names will be announced

on the Tokyo 2020 official website and via the respective Presenting Partners’ website. Details of the

contest timescales are as follows:

Photo Contest term: 17 December 2019 – 29 February 2020

Selection to be made: First week of March 2020

Announcement of the winners: 19 March 2020

Information for applicants is being provided by Presenting Partners at the following links

Coca Cola (Japan) Company, Limited: https://team.cocacola.jp/otr/photocontest (Japanese)

Toyota Motor Corporation: https://tokyo2020.torch-relay.toyota.jp/cp/ (Japanese)

Nippon Life: https://seika.nissay-cp.jp/snscampaign (Japanese)

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation: https://2020.ntt/en/tokyo/torch/smiles/

Licensed merchandise designed for the Olympic Torch Relay

Various items of licensed merchandise bearing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay emblem and

pictogram as well as images of Olympic Mascot Miraitowa will be on sale from 18 December 2019. These will be offered via the Tokyo 2020 online store and at official outlets across Japan.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only

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