Tokyo Skytree Lit Up in Olympic Colors with 2 Years until 2020 Games

July 25, 2018

Tokyo- The Tokyo Skytree was lit up in the five Olympic colors on Tuesday, with exactly two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The 634-meter-tall broadcasting tower in Sumida Ward was lit up in blue, black, yellow, green and red at a countdown event held at the landmark to commemorate the milestone.

A total of 731 paper lanterns, the same number as the days until the start of the Olympics, with messages on goals and expectations for the quadrennial sporting competitions from athletes and children were unveiled at the event.

Yoshiro Mori, head of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, participated in the event with an ice pack at hand amid the stifling heat.

Mori said that it is important to brace for a similar heatwave in two years' time.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said that the metropolitan government will fully prepare for the 2020 Games.

Other efforts to foster momentum for the Tokyo Games were also held during the countdown event.

Aya Terakawa, a retired female swimmer who won two bronze medals at the 2012 London Games, and others called for people to sign up as volunteers in the Tokyo Games, ahead of the start of recruitment in mid-September.

Families and young people also enjoyed trying out table tennis, shooting, boxing and basketball at a hands-on exhibition allowing people to experience such sports.

Tokyo Olympic mascot Miraitowa and Paralympic mascot Someity, whose names were unveiled on Sunday, also joined the event.

The event also included "uchimizu," a tradition of sprinkling water on the ground to ease the heat, with temperatures scaling around 35 degrees Celsius. Jiji Press