Tokyo 2020

2011–2012


The official Olympic bid logo for Tokyo 2020 was unveiled on the 30th November 2011 after a nationwide competition for an applicable design. The logo was created by Joshibi University of Art and Design student, Ai Shimamine.

The emblem exhibits a wreath composed of cherry blossoms, a well-known floral symbol of Japan. It incorporates the colours of the Olympic Rings as well as Purple, which celebrates the Edo period. The circular shape represents diversity with each petal representing the importance and dependencies of the world's people with one another. According to an interview with Shimamine, the wreath was included as she saw that wreaths "carry a message of 'coming back again'." She saw the hosting of the Olympics as an opportunity to reinvigorate Japan through sport.
 * The story behind Tokyo's winning 2020 Olympic logo
 * Ginza X People: Interview with Ai Shimamine

2012–2013


Tokyo was declared an official candidate for the 2020 Summer Olympics on the 23rd May 2012. To reflect this move, the Olympic Rings were added to the bottom of the logo along with the words 'Candidate City'.

1st Generation Olympics


The committee continued to defend Sano's work, but became inundated with pressure to pull the design following the multiple plagiarism claims against Sano. The organising committee claimed that "we became aware of new things this weekend and there was a sense of crisis that we thought could not be ignored.". The logo was generally unfavourable to the public as the committee also stated that, "we have decided that the logo cannot gain public support.". Its retraction was also requested by Sano himself saying that he feels the controversy was beginning to damage the reputation of the Tokyo games and that his own reputation was under threat. They conceded that this emblem had become a PR disaster and came to the conclusion to retire it just over a month after it had been instated.

On the 2nd September 2015, the emblems designed by Kenjiro Sano were officially scrapped. The official website and social media channels have reverted to using the interim emblem by Ai Shimamine for the period until a new emblem can be selected. On the 27th January 2016, Debie stated that he will drop the suit against the organising committee, citing the mounting legal costs.
 * International Paralympic Committee - Tokyo 2020 launches emblems for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
 * Brand New - New Logo for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games by Kenjiro Sano
 * The Guardian - Tokyo Olympic Games logo embroiled in plagiarism row
 * Reuters - 'No truth' to plagiarism claims: Tokyo 2020 logo designer
 * Asahi Shimbun - Olympic organizers reveal original logo design, deny plagiarism
 * Asahi Shimbun - Tokyo Olympics logo designer now accused of reproducing images without permission
 * Asahi Shimbun - Designer of Tokyo Olympics emblem faces new allegations over zoo logo
 * The Japan Times - Tokyo Olympics logo designer faces fresh plagiarism claim from U.S. artist
 * The Guardian - Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo scrapped after allegations of plagiarism

1st Generation Paralympics


This paralympic emblem was near identical to its Olympic counterpart, but has two black pillars positioned to the sides as opposed to one in the middle. It represents the equal sign '=' showing the Paralympics as an event which shares the same ideals as the Olympics and holds Paralympians to the same standards of the Olympic Games. It may also be interpreted as the Roman numeral for 2, which represents the second time Tokyo plays host to the Paralympics and in inclusion, the only city at the point of writing to host the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year twice.

Like the Olympic emblem it accompanied, the Paralympic emblem was also scrapped on the 2nd September 2015.

2nd Generation Shortlist (2016)
The new logo was decided by the committee as part of an open competition among Japanese citizens and residents to create the new logo. The submission period ran from the 24th November to 7th December 2015. It was reported that 14,599 submissions were received within the 2 week period; 12,900 of which came from individual designers and primary school students with participant ages ranging from 12 months to 107 years old. Strict copyright checks were conducted by the IOC on all designs and the committee. The shortlist was revealed at the Toranomon Hills Mori Tower at 5pm, 8th April 2016.
 * Tokyo 2020 - Tokyo 2020 Emblems Selection: The Organising Committee Announces the Establishment of a Preliminary Committee
 * Tokyo 2020 - Tokyo 2020 Games Emblems
 * Bangkok Post - Tokyo 2020 gets new logo proposals after plagiarism scandal
 * Inside the Games - Tokyo 2020 to reveal replacement logo contenders on April 8
 * Tokyo 2020 - Opinions on the Shortlisted Tokyo 2020 Games Emblem Designs

2nd Generation Olympics



 * Tokyo 2020 - Games Emblems
 * Creator's Website
 * Gizmodo - The New Tokyo 2020 Olympics Logo Hopefully Isn't a Rip-Off

Pictograms
On the 12th March 2019; 500 days out from the Olympic opening ceremony, the organising committee unveiled the official pictograms for the Olympic Games. The designs were created by graphic designer Masaaki Hiromura from the Aichi Prefecture. Masaaki specialises in the area of corporate identity and wayfinding materials for museums, commercial facilities and street signage.

The pictograms for Tokyo 2020 were heavily inspired by those from Tokyo 1964; the first Olympic Games to implement a universal visual system for events. The 1964 pictograms were constructed from a series of perfect circles and straight lines. The pictograms for 2020 takes this approach further by adding "the vibrancy and fluidity of athlete's movements".

There are 50 unique pictograms for the 33 sports to be contested in Tokyo. Each pictogram can be presented in one of two ways; in "Free type" the symbol itself without decoration, and "Frame type", the symbol contained within a circle. Frame type is only used for minimised applications such as area maps and online. All symbols are presented in the indigo-blue of the official emblem, as well as in five traditional Japanese swatches used as sub-colours.


 * Tokyo 2020 - Tokyo 2020 Unveils Olympic Games Sport Pictograms

2nd Generation Paralympics


Both the Olympic and Paralympic emblems were unveiled at the same time. Both emblems use the same 45-box system to create a circular shape and the same color. The Paralympic Emblem is used in unison with the Olympic emblem on social media and their website.

Pictograms
The Pictograms for the Paralympic Games will be unveiled in April, likely on the 13th April; the 500 day mark.