TOKYO ON TRACK AS CELEBRATIONS MARK ONE YEAR TO GO UNTIL THE START OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES 2020

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A series of celebrations have taken place in Tokyo to mark exactly one year to go until the start of the Olympic Games 2020.

Excitement in Japan is already growing, as seen by the huge demand for tickets, with more than 3.2 million already sold, more than 200,000 people have applied to be volunteers and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach says he has never seen an Olympic host city as well prepared with a year to go. 

President Bach was speaking at a ceremony at the Tokyo International Forum, which will host weightlifting at the Olympic Games next year. It was also attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, IOC Coordination Commission Chair John Coates, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, and the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, Yoshiro Mori.

During the ceremony, President Bach symbolically handed invitations to the Presidents of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Greece, China, France, the United States of America, Senegal, Australia and Japan, as well as the Chef de Mission of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, Tegla Loroupe. Among the NOCs represented were the country where the Olympic Games originated and several host countries of upcoming Games and Youth Olympic Games editions.