TOKYO, Feb. 3 — Some Japanese MPs want to bring a tradition back along with medals at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020: flowers.
At the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, instead of flowers, medalists have been given a doll of the games mascot wearing a gold, silver or bronze hat. Paralympic medal winners will be also given a doll of their games mascot.
The move started from the 2016 Rio Olympics which cut flower bouquets for athletes due to Brazil’s eco-friendly Olympics pledge, as environmental problems have been coming to light in recent Olympic Games.
As Japan gears up to welcome the world to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, however, a group of lawmakers who support the nation’s flower industry want to offer medal winners bouquets of flowers native to Japan.
They asked Agriculture Minister Ken Saito on Feb. 2 to lobby the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other related institutions about victory bouquets.