Tokyo 2016 kicked off the one-year countdown to select the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games' host city by staging a celebration at Midtown - the latest redevelopment in the heart of Japan's capital.
The celebration brought together Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese medallists from the Beijing Games, the popular all-female theatre troupe AKB48 and thousands of passionate supporters of the Tokyo 2016 bid.
Governor Ishihara told the audience: "Tokyo's Olympic Games will be unique. Amid a compact setting in the heart of the city, we will stage an exciting, environmentally friendly celebration that unites people from around the world. We will make Tokyo 2016 the Green Games by doubling the number of trees in the city and creating an additional 1,000 hectares of parkland. Underpinned by the world-renown hospitality of the Japanese people, we offer a unique experience for the world and create a lasting legacy for the Olympic Movement."
In another kick-off event held on the same day, Dr Ichiro Kono, Chairman and CEO of Tokyo 2016, and Professor Shin-ichi Takemura, a Grand Design Team member and the author of Tokyo 2016's forward-looking vision, hosted a press conference to explain the concepts of the Tokyo 2016 Games, including the 'Musubi Promise' to unite youth and sport, heritage and innovation, the Games and city life, Japan's old and new, and Green and 2016. They presented Tokyo 2016's ambitious plans for the year ahead, including promotion of not only the Bid itself but related social issues as well, including awareness of Olympism and its values among schoolchildren and better health through physical activity.
Dr Kono said: "We are celebrating Bid Day in the heart of the city to give the Japanese people the chance to show yet again their enthusiastic support for Tokyo 2016. The Bid has strong backing across all levels of Japanese society, as reflected in today's events uniting Japanese leaders in government, athletics and culture, as well as Olympic enthusiasts".
The Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee now begins the task of concluding the strongest-possible Candidate File through close consultation with related experts, as well by listening to and learning from the worldwide Olympic Family. Tokyo 2016 will submit its Candidate File to the IOC by 12 February 2009. The Evaluation Commission headed by Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco will visit Tokyo between March and May 2009 and then issue its final report on 2 September, 2009. The final vote will take place at the 121st IOC Session and Olympic Congress on 2 October in Copenhagen, Denmark.
