More than two million domestic and international visitors are in Sapporo to attend the Sapporo Snow Festival February 5 to 11, while the Nagano Lantern Festival, held annually since 2004 to promote global peace and understanding, is being held between February 7 to 15.
Both festivals are promoting Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The Sapporo Snow Festival, one of Japan’s most popular winter events, features an iconic snow structure representing Japan’s Olympic passion and heritage, said a Tokyo 2016 press release.
Olympic softball champion Yukiko Ueno along with other athletes appeared before a large audience in Sapporo at the Olympic snow statue to share Tokyo’s vision for “the most compact Olympic and Paralympic Games in history”. Among the topics discussed were the bid’s long-term sustainability plan, which includes the use of 23 existing competition venues, and the mission to unite people young and old with sport and healthy living.
Ueno said, “the Olympic Games are special because they are where the world’s athletes compete for the very highest honours. It would be thrilling to see the Games held in Tokyo. I want to help make this a reality. Children should experience the joy of competition and I feel that this power can strengthen the bid”.
Dr. Ichiro Kono, Chairman and CEO of Tokyo 2016 said, “these festivals celebrating the spirit of the Olympic Winter Games have increased the determination of Tokyo to bring the Summer Games back to Japan for the first time in over half a century by 2016. Despite the chill air of the Sapporo Snow Festival and the Nagano Lantern Festival, I was warmed by the passionate support for our bid’s inspiring vision of and the most compact and sustainable Games ever conceived.
“The Tokyo 2016 commitment to furthering the Olympic legacy resonated in these two cities, as it has throughout Japan where passion for the Olympic Movement stretches across all levels of society. It was also very gratifying that our dream of ‘Uniting Our Worlds’ through Tokyo 2016 was received so enthusiastically by international visitors to these events” he said.
