Tokyo to kick off its countdown to the Summer Olympics on Jan. 24

The Olympic rings arrived in Tokyo Bay on Friday, Jan. 17. Image: AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi via AFP Relaxnews

The Olympic Committee announced on Friday that festivities for the sporting year in prospect would begin with the inauguration of the Olympic symbol on the artificial island of Odaiba on Jan. 24.

To mark the start of the city’s countdown and curb impatience for the start of the games on July 24, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has planned a lighting ceremony for the monumental Olympic symbol, which is now installed on a barge in the futuristic Odaiba district.

The rings, which are more than 15 meters high by 32 meters long, will shine in the Tokyo skyline until the end of the games on Aug. 9, when they will be replaced by the symbol of the Paralympic Games.

To mark the start of the countdown, there will also be a fireworks display on Odaiba, which is a favorite destination for tourists for its many leisure activities.

The artificial island is home to a giant statue of the giant robot Gundam, the artists’ collective TeamLab and the Venus Fort, a vast shopping mall with an interior that is designed to replicate a stroll through the streets of Milan.  IB/JB

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