TOKYO 2020 will carry the official motto “United by Emotion” for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Organizers said the slogan “emphasizes the power of sport to bring together people from diverse backgrounds of every kind, and allows them to connect and celebrate in a way that reaches beyond their differences.”
To celebrate the release of the motto, a laser mapping display will be projected onto the Tokyo Skytree tower from Tuesday until March 25.
A video featuring Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has also been released to “share the key messages behind the Tokyo 2020 Games motto with the world.”
The motto will be used in various ways and will only be displayed in English. People can expect to see it at competition venues, on official products and as part of street decorations. It will also be used in digital media.
“The Games motto encapsulates the Games vision, capturing the essence of the ideas and concepts that the host city wishes to share with the world,” a Tokyo 2020 statement said. “’United by Emotion’ expresses the hope that the spectators, volunteers and athletes from over 200 National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Olympic Team gathering in Tokyo this summer, as well as the billions watching on television and online across the globe, will come together and understand that there is more that unites than divides them.”
“In this age where we so often connect with others without physically meeting, the Tokyo 2020 Games will inspire countless new face-to-face encounters among those participating in and watching events,” the statement furthered.
“The Games will provide a time and a place where an astounding variety of people—different nationalities, ethnicities, races, genders, cultures, as well as those with and without impairments—can meet and get to know each other, and look beyond their differences.”
The statement added: “Sport gives people the opportunity to experience a variety of emotions and passions, and the Tokyo 2020 Games will allow people to witness the courage and competitive spirit of the athletes and voice their support. This is precisely the power of sport—its ability to connect people through their emotions.”
“And it is what Tokyo 2020 intends to depict with the motto United by Emotion,” it said. “The moment when the world turns to Tokyo to share the excitement of the Games will soon be upon us. Tokyo 2020 will use this motto throughout the build up to the Games to illuminate the city of Tokyo and its Games venues.”
The first Olympics to adopt a motto was Munich 1972 which used the phrase “The Happy Games.” A slogan has been a regular feature since Seoul 1988 with organizers in South Korea choosing “Harmony and Progress.”
Subsequent mottos for Summer Games have been “Friends for Life” at Barcelona 1992, “The Celebration of the Century” at Atlanta 1996, “Share the Spirit-Dare to Dream” at Sydney 2000, “Welcome Home” at Athens 2004, “One World, One Dream” at Beijing 2008, “Inspire a Generation” at London 2012 and “A New World” at Rio 2016.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will run from July 24 to August 9 with the Paralympics following from August 25 to September 6.
Video-game giant Sega, meanwhile, announced that its mobile title Sonic at the Olympic Games will be released on May 7.
Featuring the company’s famous blue hedgehog, the title will be available on both iOS and Android.
It is the official mobile game of Tokyo 2020 with a preregistration phase now open.
Players will be rewarded depending on how many people register, with 500,000 needed to unlock a badge featuring Tokyo 2020 Olympic mascot Miraitowa.
Training Points that can be used to unlock events and special skills will be activated for 300,000 registrations with 100,000 earning the Ocean View music track from the game “Team Sonic Racing.”
In the game, Sonic’s arch-nemesis Doctor Eggman has plans to take over Tokyo and rename it “Eggman City.”
Sonic and other characters from the series must challenge him in various sports, with his enemy promising to leave for good if defeated.
The game features 15 Olympic events, including karate and climbing, which will make their Games debuts in Tokyo.
Leaderboards will allow players, countries and regions to compete against each other.
Another video game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, has already been released on the Nintendo Switch console.
It is the sixth installment of the series which again sees Sonic team up with Nintendo’s famous plumber. Insidethegames