The logos for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were revealed today and the best thing you can say about them is that they don’t look as garish as the 2012 London logos.
There were two logos shows today. One is for the standard Olympic Games and another for the Paralympic Games. Organizers hope that the logos are welcoming symbols to everyone in the world, since the Games are supposed to bring athletes and fans from around the world to one location.
Each logo features three vertical strips, which can also remind us of the “=” sign if put sideways, since the center column is a different color. For the Olympics logo, the center column is black, which is supposed to represent diversity, while the other two columns are white. Both also have a red circle in the top right-hand corner, which reminds us of the Japanese flag and is also supposed to represent the “power of every beating heart.”
There’s also a “T” in there, which is supposed to stand for Tokyo, Tomorrow and Team. The logo was designed by Kenjiro Sano, a Tokyo native.
“The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games emblem is a powerful symbol of Tokyo’s Games vision,” IOC Coordination Commission Chair John Coates said in a statement. “By embracing the concept of unity in diversity, it shows the unique ability of the Olympic Games to bring together people from all over the world in peace and harmony. Its inclusiveness and its representation of the power of the human heart is testament to the spirit in which the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are being prepared. They will be a global celebration that we can all be a part of and enjoy.”
The release of the logos now, five years before the Games, seems like a way to distract the world from the main issue that organizers face right now. Last week, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe abruptly cancelled the expensive and controversial plans for the main National Stadium. But everyone in Tokyo is still hopeful that everything will be figured out by June 24, 2020.
“There have been many problems up to now, including the stadium, and there will no doubt be more,” Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe said, reports Reuters. “But I firmly believe that if we work together we will be able to overcome everything.”
logos from Tokyo2020.jp