Tokyo 2020 Summer Games will extend the reach of the Tokyo 2020 Nationwide Participation Programme from 20 July by inviting international foundations and foreign embassies in Japan to take part. The reach Programme is designed to encourage public participation in the preparation and staging of the Tokyo 2020 Games and to attract more overseas visitors to Japan.
The Summer Games Organising Committee aims to further expand the Programme in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Games, and expects that many of the Programme’s elements will continue to run after the Games.
Under the planning of this reach program, the OC is encouraging individuals and communities across the country as possible to join hands, Tokyo 2020 has certified about 11,000 initiatives since last October’s launch of the Programme, and nearly 2.85 million people have already taken part in these.
In line with the program, in January 2017 Sendai City and Sendai Cultural Foundation in Miyagi prefecture hosted an event teaching aspects of Japanese Noh theatre in English and then in February 2017, Bunkyo ward in Tokyo organised an International Cultural Exchange Festival. The Festival included an event whereby elements of Japanese culture such as “ikebana” flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, traditional Japanese music and Japanese calligraphy were showcased alongside those of several other countries, including music from Ireland, traditional performance art from China, and Myanmar cuisine. The festival will again be held next year.
Three years to the 2020 Games, Tokyo 2020 is expecting the reach of its Nationwide Participation Programme will spur an increase in the number of events and initiatives hosted by various international entities and other organisations across the nation, thus increasing the number of people, included foreigners living in Japan and visitors to the country before, during and after the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The Programme comprises a series of public events aimed at building public support ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and maximising their impact and reach across Japan. Tokyo 2020 has kept certain criteria based on which it will will authorise and brand events and leverage these to promote positive social change across the country and the participation of as many individuals and communities as possible in the build-up to the Games.
The Programme consists of two elements: the Tokyo 2020 Official Programme and the Tokyo 2020 Support Programme. The former includes events organised by the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, municipal authorities hosting Tokyo 2020 events and various other official bodies and commercial organisations. The Tokyo 2020 Support Programme incorporates events arranged by non-commercial organisations promoting various themes, including culture, education, sport and health, and the recovery of disaster-affected areas in Japan.