Tokyo begins removing Olympic decorations

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Wednesday started removing Olympic and Paralympic emblems from its facilities, several months after the games were held in the capital amid the coronavirus pandemic following a one-year postponement.

Large wall stickers and other decorations featuring the emblems and games’ mascots will be taken down, as Tokyo’s contract with the International Olympic Committee states that the host city can only use such materials until the end of the year, officials said.

On Wednesday, work began to remove large emblems from the Tokyo assembly building’s exterior wall, as well as stickers featuring the mascots from a square in front of the metropolitan government building where the Olympic torch relay concluded on July 23.

The emblems, some as large as 8.5 meters horizontally and vertically, have been on display since May 2016, about a month after the Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee selected them as the official logos.

Workers remove the Tokyo Olympic emblem from the exterior wall of the Tokyo metropolitan government building on Wednesday. | KYODO

About a half year after the official logos were removed, the official film of the Tokyo Olympics, directed by award-winning director Naomi Kawase, will make its debut in theaters in June, movie distributor Toho Co. said Wednesday.

The film, tentatively called the “Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” is a record of events related to the games for about two years.

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were postponed from the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic. Both games involved athletes from around the world but were held mostly without spectators to prevent the spread of the virus.

With her first feature, “Suzaku,” released in 1997, Kawase, 52, became the youngest filmmaker to receive the Camera d’Or at the Cannes film festival for best new director. Ten years later, her work “The Mourning Forest” received the Grand Prix, the second-highest award behind the Palme d’Or at the French festival.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Comments (0)
Add Comment