Tokyo 2016 Holds Major Symposium To Promote Bid

"Get Fit Japan", a major Tokyo 2016 Symposium and one of the many initiatives Tokyo 2016 is organizing to increase public understanding of the impact a Tokyo 2016 Games would have not only in Japan, but also on people worldwide, ended Friday.

According to a Tokyo 2016 press release it was the biggest meeting in more than 30 communities ranging from large cities to small towns that Tokyo 2016 has held nationwide so far.

Tadao Ando, a world-renowned architect and member of the Tokyo 2016 Grand Design team, and Chairman of the Tokyo Sea Forest Project, a "richly landscaped" landfill island in Tokyo Bay which, by 2016 will feature an 88-hectare forest, spoke at the event sharing the "Vision of Tokyo 2016 to carve out a new future" by encouraging citizens of Japan to support the bid. He also told the audience about Tokyo 2016's plans to deliver the most "compact and sustainable Games in history", and an "incredible sporting and architectural legacy".

His speech was followed by a panel discussion on the rationale behind Tokyo's bid and the long-term benefits of the Games for Japan's economy and environment.