Osaka Makes First Run For the Games
September 8, 2000

More than a million people in Japan want the 2008 Summer Games to come to Osaka and as many as 7,500 volunteer community groups have been organized to support the city’s bid. So when Osaka was among the five candidate cities selected to compete for the bid, Takafumi Isomura, Chairman of the Osaka Bid Committee and Mayor of Osaka said at a press conference “We are very happy to learn that Osaka has successfully passed the first screening despite the fierce competition.” He added “Now, as we turn toward the host city selection, scheduled for July next year, in order to finalize the Osaka Olympic plan for a Games that will offer the best possible environment for the world’s top athletes and a moving experience for the entire world, we must focus all our energies and continue forth with our preparations.”

Osaka has been preparing to host the 2008 bid Games for quite a while. The city has already hosted two large-scale international events, Osaka EXPO in 1970 and the International Garden and Greenery Exposition in 1990.

And for many centuries Osaka’s citizens have played a leading role in their city planning, including founding their own schools and constructing panels and bridges. Which brings us to the Olympic bid.

Supported by its citizens, Osaka is confident of realizing a high-quality Games, starting with its children. Osaka’s children are also enthusiastic about hosting the Olympic Games. Young people will play leading roles in the 2008 Olympics as athletes and volunteers.

Osaka has been promoting the Olympic movement among children. Children’s essays and drawings on the theme of the Olympics, collected since 1996, richly express children’s expectations for the Olympic Games. Child ambassadors have been sent to the Atlanta Olympics, Athens and Lausanne, helping attract much attention to the Olympic movement.

And even its Shotengai (shopping streets) are involved. The “One Shotengai for One Country Campaign” in which each Shotengai selects a country to cheer on its Olympic quest is spreading like wildfire throughout Osaka’s shopping streets. By reaching out to the world through these events, the Shotengai Associations hope to promote the internationalization and revitalization of the Shotengai, and to add fuel to the enthusiasm for Osaka’s Olympic bid.

The campaign features specialty goods from the countries represented, as well as an introduction to their cultures and tourist sights.

Osaka is promoting the “Sports Paradise” concept, encouraging citizens to enjoy sports through life. It offers them opportunities to share excitement through sports, and promotes exchange through sport. In following this concept, Osaka has been constructing and improving various sports facilities with barrier-free designs, from those for daily use to large-scale facilities, to meet international standards. At some facilities already completed, various international athletic competitions have been held. All facilities will be ready for the opening of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Main Venue will be situated on Maishima, an island created on the sea developed from the green hillsides down along the river to Osaka Bay.

Many facilities have already been completed on Maishima and are open for public use. The Olympic Stadium and The Olympic Indoor Swimming Pool will be constructed on the island to serve as a stage for world-class athletic competition.

The Olympic Village will be constructed on Yumeshima, another man-made island only 400 metres from Maishima. It’s a secure location, surrounded by the sea with a green wooded landscape, which will enable athletes to relax in comfort.

Most sport venus are within 20 killometres of the Olympic Village. Well-connected traffic networks between the Olympic Village and each sport venue, or between sport venues, will guarantee pleasant transfers, minimizing pre-competition stress.

Osaka plans an environment-friendly Olympics. The city has experienced serious pollution problems with the advance of modern industrialization. But through the cooperative endeavour of its citizens, companies and the municipal government, Osaka says these problems were overcome and the city has successfully transformed its industrial structure.

Osaka has been promoting city planning on Maishima and Yumeshima to realize a model community supported by a resource-recycling system and sustainable development.

Making full use of its excellent environmental conservation technologies to ensure the Olympics in harmony with the environment, Osaka will use new energy, low-pollution vehicles and a circulatory-usage system for water resources.

As for transportation, Osaka says a world class advanced road traffic system will be available providing precise traffic information and instructions as to the best route.

And the most up-to-date information network will also be fully used to convey real-time information on the Olympics to every corner of the world, so that the people of Osaka and of the entire world can share the exciting Olympian moments.

Osaka’s residents have been asked to finance publicity activities until 2001 when the host city will be selected and each contributor will receive a memento.

But their greatest memento would be hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.