NAN-S-6
Voting
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Jan. 22, 2018 (NAN) The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic 2020 Games on Monday said almost 13,985 elementary schools in Japan have already registered for the selection process of mascots.
In December 2017, Tokyo 2020 published a shortlist of mascot design sets, each containing an Olympic and a Paralympic mascot for school children to vote for their favourite set.
The organising committee in a statement said designs with the largest number of votes would be declared the winner on Feb. 28.
It said the schools which have registered to vote so far include a total of 92 Japanese schools in 51 countries and regions overseas.
According to the statement, Colette Schmidt, a fifth grader at the American School in Japan, said it was a wonderful opportunity for kids to be part of the mascots’ selection of the Games.
Masa Takaya, Tokyo 2020 spokesperson, said: “The mascot voting is going very well, actually even better than we expected.
“The number of participating schools keeps growing, but more importantly, we have received positive responses from the children.
“At every school we have been to, we saw children being completely focused on their mission and feeling involved in the 2020 Games’ preparation.
“Their memories of this unique experience will be another legacy of Tokyo 2020, as we are aiming to engage a new generation in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”(NAN)
KOA/ENN/OLAL
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu and Olawale Alabi)