Tokyo Paralympics Secure Gold Partner

(ATR) Coca-Cola added to its Tokyo 2020 sponsorship by becoming a gold partner for the upcoming Paralympic Games.

The arrangement comprises the highest level of domestic sponsorship, according to a statement from the organizing committee. Coca-Cola’s Paralympic sponsorship includes the categories of "Non-Alcoholic Beverages" and "Coffee Beans and Instant Coffee Powder/Granules".

Tokyo 2020 says that the total number of Paralympic partners is at 66.

"As the longest continuous Partner of the Olympic Games, we have a long-standing commitment to creating unforgettable moments during the world’s most watched and celebrated international sporting events," Jorge Garduño, President of Coca-Cola Japan, said in a statement.

"Working alongside our bottling partners in Japan, we look forward to furthering this legacy at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games."

Volunteer Statistics Released

More than 180,000 people applied to be volunteers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and over 35,000 people applied to be volunteers for the city of Tokyo during the Games.

Both numbers surpassed the 80,000 and 20,000 volunteers Tokyo 2020 and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government were seeking.

Tokyo 2020 said that 186,101 people applied to be Olympic volunteers. Sixty-three percent of the applicants are Japanese. By comparison, 60 percent of volunteers for the Rio 2016 Olympics were Brazilian.

Masa Takaya, Tokyo 2020 spokesperson, told Around the Rings that the high number of foreign applicants showed Tokyo "captures global people’s attention".

"We are pleased to have received so many applications," Toshiro Muto, Tokyo 2020 chief executive said in a statement. "We appreciate applicants' understanding of the purpose of the Volunteer Program and of our Tokyo 2020 vision, and will be providing various programs as part of the orientation and training process to support and engage them before, during and after the Games."

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government received a total of 36,649 applicants, after extending its deadline for recruitment to Dec. 21 to match the Tokyo 2020 deadline. The original deadline was Dec. 5, and the TMG previously confirmed it had received over 20,000 applicants by that date.

City volunteers will be notified in January 2019 for interviews which commence in February. Training of city volunteers will run from October 2019 to February 2020.

For Japanese residents, the Tokyo 2020 volunteer interviews will begin in February and training in October 2019. Overseas residents will have their Tokyo 2020 orientation in March and July 2019 over video calls, and training will begin in June 2020.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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