Making the Olympics Sustainable Through the Legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games

2020/03/16

As of the time of writing (January 28), the "Tokyo 2020 Official Art Poster Exhibition," which displays a total of 20 posters representing "Tokyo 2020," is being held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. These "Art Posters" are created by domestic and international artists commissioned to produce artworks themed around the Olympic or Paralympic Games, and are used to build momentum as the official posters for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

In fact, regarding the selection of artists for these "Art Posters," I received a preliminary hearing from the Organizing Committee Secretariat. Inferring the background of this hearing, it seems to be as follows. As is well known, the situation involving the withdrawal and re-solicitation of the Tokyo 2020 emblem occurred in 2015. A lack of discussion regarding the concept was likely cited as a point of reflection. Therefore, for the "Art Posters," there was likely an intention to avoid such issues by conducting hearings with experts to examine the concept before forming the selection committee.

In response to this hearing, I provided the following advice. While the emblem involves selecting only one design to serve as an icon, for the "Art Posters," it is desirable to select as many artists as possible to showcase cultural diversity. Regarding genres, it is desirable to select multiple artists not only from graphic design but also from contemporary art, manga/anime, calligraphy, photography, and Art Brut—fields that represent Japanese creativity. Furthermore, I suggested that it would be preferable to select primarily young artists rather than established masters in each field.

As a result, this advice was adopted almost 100%, and the "Art Posters" were selected.

Now, the theme of this article is "Legacy"—that is, what can be passed on after the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) places great importance on this concept of "Legacy." In fact, there is a close relationship between "Legacy" and "Art Posters." From the "Art Posters" of past Olympic Games, works that have become cultural and artistic legacies, as well as works that serve as icons of their era, have been born.

A representative example of this would be the poster by designer Yusaku Kamekura for the 1964 Tokyo Games. Kamekura's poster had a simple composition, but for that very reason, it was powerful and left a strong impact on viewers. At the time, the professional title of "designer" was not common; they were called "zuan-ya" (pattern makers). However, as these "Art Posters" rapidly permeated the public consciousness, "designer" came to be recognized as a socially important profession.

By the way, there is a very important background to why "Legacy" is emphasized in the hosting of the Olympics, particularly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. At the IOC Session in 2017, the host cities for the next two Games after Tokyo were decided simultaneously: Paris for 2024 and Los Angeles for 2028. This simultaneous decision for two Games was an extremely unusual event, the first in 96 years since the 1921 Session decided on Paris for 1924 and Amsterdam for 1928. Why was such a decision made for two Games at once?

Originally, five cities had bid to host the 2024 Games: Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), Rome (Italy), Paris, and Los Angeles. However, several cities subsequently withdrew their bids due to local opposition movements, leaving only Paris and Los Angeles. Conventionally, there would have been a competition between these two cities. However, if the 2024 host had been decided by competition, the IOC could not be certain whether any cities would bid when they called for applications again for 2028. The IOC must have felt an extremely strong sense of crisis regarding this situation.

The Olympics in Tokyo will be the second time in 56 years, Paris will be the third time in 100 years since 1924, and Los Angeles will be the third time in 44 years since 1984. When a city hosts the Olympics for the first time, explaining its significance is relatively easy. However, when a mature country or city hosts the Olympics for a second or third time, there is actually no clear answer regarding its significance. Therefore, the IOC felt a sense of crisis that the Olympics might not be sustainable, leading to the simultaneous decision for two Games.

In this context, if Tokyo 2020 can present the significance of a mature city hosting the Olympics for a second (or third) time, the IOC will likely feel great gratitude toward Japan. With the hosting of the Tokyo 2020 Games ahead of us, we need to think once again about what the Olympics can pass on to the future.