The 2021 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The multi-sport event was originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, but had to be postponed because of the Covid19 pandemic. With only a few days to go for the games to kick-off, the frenzy is finally building up.
What is the 2021 Olympic mascot?
Miraitowa is the official mascot of the 2021 Summer Olympics and also the 26th official mascot for the Games. The name Miraitowa, decided by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee in July 2018, is derived from the Japanese words “mirai”, meaning future, and “towa”, meaning eternity. The mascot helps sponsor the games through merchandising and licensing deals. An Olympic 2021 official has expected the mascot to generate $130 million in revenue.
Who designed the Olympics Mascot for Tokyo 2020?
The mascot for the 2021 Olympic Games was selected from a competition held in 2018, where 2,042 candidate designs were submitted to the Tokyo organising committee. Of all the submissions, only three designs were selected and of those three, Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi’s design was given an official go-ahead in February 2018. Taniguchi is a Fukuoka-based designer born in 1974, who has studied art from the US.
What does the 2020 Olympics Mascot look like?
Miraitowa is a cartoon figure with blue-checkered patterns which embody both old tradition and new innovation of Japanese culture. The character is said to be athletic and can be teleported anywhere. The official website of the Tokyo Olympics describes Miraitowa as “cheerful and remarkably athletic, with a very strong sense of integrity.”
With only 10 days to go for the Games, the mascot will be on your TV screen pretty soon!
