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Updated July 20th, 2021 at 15:26 IST

Tokyo Olympics: IOC President Thomas Bach says games will send a message of solidarity

IOC President Thomas Bach urges to draw lessons and hope for brighter times by examining the distant and not so distant past ahead of Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Reported by: Kriti Nayyar
Tokyo Olympics
CREDITS- ANI/AP | Image:self
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With the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in three days, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach urged to draw lessons and hope for brighter times by examining the distant and not so distant past. For his welcome in the 138th session of IOC, taking place in the Japanese Capital, the IOC President mentioned a quote of the founder of the IOC, Pierre de Coubertin, that he found inspirational: "The Olympic Games are a pilgrimage to the past and an act of faith in the future." The session was also attended by Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide who reiterated that the significance of Tokyo 2020 will not dim even with the cap on the number of spectators. 

President Thomas Bach commences the 38th IOC Session with his speech 

For the IOC President, the significance of the past and future holds relevance on the eve of the Olympic games. "Because with the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, we are committing an act of faith in the future. Just like the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 marked a new era for a peaceful and dynamic Japan, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will give humanity faith in the future," he said. On keeping a united front in the face of COVID-19 difficulties, he said, "In these Games, 4.9 billion people in the world will be riveted to their TV screens. The world is faced with great difficulty—now is the time that we have to unite and, with the efforts and wisdom of humankind, deliver the Games. We can do that."

The Japanese PM was preceded at the session by Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee President Hashimoto Seiko and Japanese Olympic Committee President Yamashita Yasuhiro. "The Tokyo Games, these postponed Games, are a first-ever challenge in the history of the Olympic Games, but there are only three days to go. We have come this far. The Tokyo Games will start, overcoming many difficulties. The world over, athletes are coming to Japan. Sports and athletes will present the power to change the world and our future. I am confident about that," Hashimoto said as he stressed on the importance of setting the stage for the athletes. 

Games will give humanity faith in the future: Bach

President Bach believes that the games will give humanity faith in the future due to incredible support, collaboration and solidarity from people across the globe as they unite for the Olympic movement in the face of a pandemic. Emphasising the importance of healthcare workers, he said, "It starts with the heroic efforts of all the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and many volunteers." Apart from this, the president also mentioned the distress people in Japan and around the world were facing due to the global pandemic and observed a minute's silence to honour the memory of all those the world has lost. 

He concluded his speech with another quote of Pierre de Coubertin: "Speaking before the Olympic Games Antwerp 1920 and during the last global pandemic—a moment in history in some ways strikingly similar to our times today—he said, and I quote: 'Humanity must find all the strength it can in the heritage of the past in order to build its future. Olympism is one of those strengths'." 

(SOURCE-ANI)

(IMAGE CREDITS-ANI/AP)

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Published July 20th, 2021 at 15:26 IST

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