Tokyo 2020, children will choose the mascots

The "finalist" pairs presented during a ceremony. Thousands of schools in the country will participate in the vote. The joy of children

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Children will choose the mascot for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. It is the first time that such a method has been used in the history of the Olympics. On December 7th, the organizers presented the three pairs of "finalist" mascots, one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympic Games, and elementary school children from all over Japan are being asked to choose their favorite pair.

The decision was made after the originally approved logo had been accused of plagiarism, forcing the organizing committee to restart the selection process. The final decision was to involve children in the choice, in a more transparent process and to help garner the enthusiasm of the youngsters towards the Olympic games.

The official mascots will be announced on February 28th and the voting will be held from December 11th to February 22nd. There are about 21 thousand Japanese elementary schools that can take part in the vote. As of 6 December, there were already 3,655 institutions registered. Each class will express a single vote.

The pairs of characters were unveiled on December 7 during a ceremony at a primary school in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, amid the applause and joy of the children.

One of the couples has checkered themes for both characters, similar to the official logo. The second version is made up of a fox-cat creature and a stone guardian dog, elements of Japanese culture. Finally, there is a fox with a comma-shaped design and a raccoon dog.

• Japan
• Olympics
• Paralympics
• Tokyo 2020
• children
• mascots