Tokyo 2020 unveils new Olympic logo after plagiarism allegations
Blue and white logo with corresponding design for the Paralympics picked after initial emblem scrapped last September
The organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have unveiled a new official logo, seven months after being forced to scrap the previous design amid accusations of plagiarism.
Selecting an emblem they hope will be simple, effective and most of all original, they have chosen a simple circular logo made up of three shapes of rectangles in indigo blue.
The winning design, entitled Harmonized Checkered Emblem, is intended to represent different countries, cultures and ways of thinking, according to its Japanese designer, Asao Tokoro. The device is slightly reworked into an upward-facing crescent for the Paralympics motif.
The original logo for the Games was scrapped last September after its designer, Kenjiro Sano, was accused of basing his emblem on the logo of the Théâtre de Liège in Belgium.
Japanese officials initially rejected accusations that Sano had plagiarised the image, which was based around a stylised capital T with a red circle representing Japan’s rising sun, from Olivier Debie’s strikingly similar motif for the theatre. Sano has also denied plagiarism.
But they backed down when the Belgian designer began legal proceedings to block Tokyo 2020 from using the image. Further allegations of plagiarism also emerged against Sano, including claims that his initial submission resembled a work by the late German typographer Jan Tschichold.
It was not the first embarrassing climbdown for the organising committee, which had earlier abandoned architect Zaha Hadid’s design for its centrepiece Olympic stadium amid spiralling costs and a growing public controversy over the plan.
The Tokyo 2020 committee has since opted for a more modest design by local architect Kengo Kuma, which it promises to deliver for significantly less. Kuma was later forced to deny claims by Hadid’s office that he had borrowed elements of his scheme from her proposed building.
Construction has fallen well behind schedule, forcing the organisers of the 2019 Rugby World Cup to move key matches to a stadium in the neighbouring city of Yokohama.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Tokoro said his mind had “gone blank” when he found out his design had been selected. “I put a lot of time and effort into this design as though it was my own child,” he added.
John Coates, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said: “The new Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 emblem symbolises important elements of the Tokyo 2020 Games vision and the underlying concepts of achieving personal best, unity in diversity and connecting to tomorrow.” Coates attended the launch along with Japanese baseball great Sadaharu Oh and Tokyo’s governor Yoichi Masuzoe.
“I congratulate the Tokyo 2020 team for the inclusive process that led to this selection.”
