Recruitment of Assistant Cast Members for Tokyo 2020 Opening and Closing Ceremonies Commences

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) announced today that it will be inviting applications for the role of assistant cast member willing to welcome and support athletes during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic and

Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Applications will be accepted from today until 28 February, with this public recruitment designed to provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and share in their excitement alongside the athletes.

Assistant cast members will welcome athletes from around the world and chat with them as they escort them into the stadium for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Their support will allow the athletes to make the most of these spectacular events and help create for them fond memories of the host city of Tokyo. In addition, the assistant cast members’ own participation in the Ceremonies is sure to create wonderful memories that they can themselves share with their families and friends for years to come.

Around 1,000 people will be selected to be Tokyo 2020 Olympic assistant cast members with a further 1,200 selected to be Tokyo 2020 Paralympic assistant cast members. Those selected will be required to assist at both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the respective Games. Applications to assist at the ceremonies of both Games will be accepted, and some of those applicants may be selected to assist at both sets of ceremonies.

Mansai Nomura, Chief Executive Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, commented, "Day by day the feeling grows that a miraculous time will soon be upon us – a time when people from all over the world will gather in Tokyo, generating a force for the future. We heard from so many people that they wanted to support these events, so we decided to give all members of the public a chance to become involved in these events alongside the athletes in the stadium. I am confident that many people will apply and provide a smile and a warm welcome for the athletes from all over the world, and that they will share their excitement for the city of Tokyo and the

Tokyo 2020 Games."

Applications can be made from 12:00 JST today, Friday 7 February, until 23:59 JST on Friday 28

February via this special area on Tokyo 2020’s website: https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/ceremony/assistantcast/

The site will be available from 12:00 JST today.

Applicants must fulfil the following requirements:

• they must have been born on or before 1 April 2002; those born on or after 1 March 2000 must

obtain the consent of their guardian before submitting their application

• they must be resident in Japan during the period 1 April 2020 until 6 September 2020 and either

have Japanese nationality or have a valid visa permitting residence in Japan

• they must be able to communicate in Japanese in order to understand staff directions (additional

communication skills such as a knowledge of English or other languages and/or sign language will be

welcomed)

Further information and other requirements are listed in the below appendix.

7 – 28 February Application period

Early March Application screening, matching and lottery drawing

Late March Application results released

April Briefings (will be held in Tokyo; several sessions are planned)

Mid-July Rehearsals for Olympic assistant cast members

24 July 24 Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Early August Rehearsals for Olympic assistant cast members

9 August Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

Mid-August Rehearsals for Paralympic assistant cast members

25 August Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony

Early September Rehearsals for Paralympic assistant cast members

6 September Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony

Note: all rehearsals will be held over several days, most likely in the Kanto region25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only