The design for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals were unveiled on Wednesday, exactly one year to the event’s opening ceremony, during a special countdown occasion held at the Tokyo International Forum.
This medal design, selected from more than 400 design applications submitted to the Tokyo 2020 medal design competition open to professional designers and design students, resembles rough stones that now shine after being polished.
“LIGHT” AND “BRILLIANCE” The concept reflects the hard work an athlete puts into achieving glory, with “light” and “brilliance” as the overall theme. “The medals collect and reflect myriad patterns of light, symbolising the energy of the athletes and those who support them; their design is intended to symbolise diversity and represent a world where people who compete in sports and work hard are honoured. The brilliance of the medals’ reflections signifies the warm glow of friendship depicted by people all over the world holding hands,” according to organisers.
Just as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations stipulate, the front of Olympic medal features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory alongside the official name of the Games, and the Olympic five rings symbol.
Junichi Kawanishi, who won the nationwide medal design competition, said: “I never dreamed that the design I submitted, only as a memorial to this lifetime event, would be actually selected. With their shining rings, I hope the medals will be seen as paying tribute to the athletes’ efforts, reflecting their glory and symbolizing friendship.”
SUSTAINABILITY To promote sustainability, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) introduced the “Tokyo 2020 Medal Project” which lasted two years between 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019.
The project saw the collection of small electronic devices such as used mobile phones from all over Japan, which would be recycled into the medals to be used at next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Over 90% of Japanese cities, towns and villages participated in the collection phase of the project.
Hence, 100 per cent of the gold, silver and bronze elements required to produce the approximately 5,000 medals have been extracted from the used small electronic devices. The campaign generated roughly 32 kilograms of gold, 3,500kg of silver and 2,300kg of bronze. “We hope that our project to recycle small consumer electronics and our efforts to contribute to an environmentally friendly and sustainable society will become a legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games,” organisers said.
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