The 2016 Summer Olympics take place this August in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, with the 2016 Summer Paralympics following a month after. During the closing ceremonies for each event, there will be a flag handover ceremony in which Rio will handover the Olympic flag to the city that will host both events in 2020, Tokyo.

After an executive board meeting of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizers on Monday, a group of 8 were announced as production consultants for the handover ceremony. The group includes include choreographer Mikiko, former synchronized swimming Olympian and Tokyo Games ambassador Mikako Kotani, Paralympic shooter Aki Taguchi, and Shiina Ringo.

In a statement, Ringo, whose song “NIPPON” was the official song for NHK’s broadcast of the 2014 World Cup, said, “I hope to fulfill my job as a consultant in helping showcase Tokyo as well as Japan (to the world).”

“It will be a tall order to squeeze everything into eight minutes,” Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said. “But I hope we can offer some highlights about Japan that will give the world an idea of what our country is up to.” He continued, “Something like this cannot be left to amateurs. We need experts as well as those who have experienced the Olympics and Paralympics to get this right.”

On Monday, the organizing committee also approved the expected appointment of Panasonic Corporation President Kazuhiro Tsuga as vice president to replace Toyota Motor Corporation chief Akio Toyoda, who stepped down last month.

 

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