The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee today announced that it has proposed 18 additional events from five sports to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (Tokyo 2020). It has become the first ever organising committee to be given this unique opportunity to contribute to the design of the Olympic Programme, thanks to Olympic Agenda 2020.
The 18 proposed events are (sport alphabetical order):
- Baseball (M)
- Softball (W)
- Karate - Kata (W/M)
- Kumite (3 weight classes - W/M)
- Skateboard - Street (W/M)
- Park (W/M)
- Sports Climbing - Bouldering, Lead and Speed Combined (W/M)
- Surfing - Shortboard (W/M)
This package of events represents both traditional and emerging, youth-focused events, all of which are popular both in Japan and internationally. They will serve as a driving force to further promote the Olympic Movement and its values, with a focus on youth appeal, and will add value to the Games by engaging the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide, reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision.
This possibility for the OCOGs to propose events in new sports to feature at the edition of their Games, is a completely new and fresh approach in the development of the Olympic programme. It builds on the ongoing focus of flexibility, innovation and youth, allowing Tokyo 2020 to reflect the sports culture of Tokyo and Japan, destinations that have always captured the imagination of the worlds youth.
The 18 proposed events were selected by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and its Additional Event Programme Panel through an open process that was initiated in May 2015. Twenty-six IOC-recognised International Federations originally applied, and eight of these were shortlisted in June 2015.
The final decision, in line with the Olympic Charter, will be made by the IOC at the 129th IOC Session in Rio in August 2016.
Each of the eight shortlisted international federations amply demonstrated their potential to add to the value of the Games and I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to each of them for their outstanding efforts. We firmly believe that by connecting with youth, bringing to life Olympic Agenda 2020 and the Tokyo 2020 vision, our proposal constitutes the best possible package that will add the most value to the Games. said Fujio Mitarai, Chair of the Additional Event Programme Panel.
The 18 events will result in the addition of some 474 athletes to the sports programme for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Tokyo 2020 believes the proposed additional events will inspire young athletes involved in these events around the world to strive to achieve their cherished dream of competing in the worlds greatest sporting spectacle.
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