On August 24, 2022, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, “Tokyo 2020 Paralympic 1st Anniversary Event” is held.
with a tape cutAriake ArenaOn the day of the opening of the stadium (opening on August 20), many people who were invited by lottery visited and enjoyed various performances, including an exhibition match of wheelchair basketball, a Paralympic event!
Toyosu entered the Ariake Arena from morning to night to cover and photograph this memorable event.
Newspapers and news media have already submitted reports, but I would like to present a report with a lot of photos that other media won’t do!
Photo gallery
Part 1 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball International Exhibition Match and Fishers & Litgrid!
became the venueAriake Arena(The photo above was taken on a different day).
8,000 people were recruited in advance, and the winning participants visited. However, it seemed that the number of people who actually visited was less than this, probably due to the influence of the new corona.
In the first part, before the opening, YouTuber Fischer’s (Fisher’s) and the student team will face off in wheelchair basketball!
As expected of popular YouTubers, the audience cheered loudly when they appeared!
By the way, in the wheelchair basketball showdown, each other displayed intense movements, conveying the fun of wheelchair basketball to the venue and the live viewers.
Shinji Negi, former captain of the Sydney Paralympics and deputy mayor of the Tokyo Paralympic Village, explained the rules in an easy-to-understand manner.
(Mr. Shinji Negi)And the opening declaration by Fishers. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic 1st Anniversary Event has started!
The chorus joint team of the National High School Comprehensive Cultural Festival “Tokyo Sobun 2022” performed the tournament image song “Kimi e Tsunagu”. They gave a lecture on the lyrics in sign language and performed a wonderful chorus.
(“Tokyo Sobun 2022” chorus joint team)Finally, the exhibition match between the Japanese women’s wheelchair basketball (women’s) team and the Spanish national team began.
President Toshihiko Tamagawa of the Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation gave a speech,
He sent a message to the venue, saying, “I am happy that interest in parasports has increased thanks to the Paralympics, and I hope you enjoy your day.”
(Toshihiko Tamagawa, Chairman of the Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation)wait! The women’s wheelchair basketball game has started!
Kitada (No. 18) is ready when the match starts! Kimeru!
Japan ended the first quarter with a 11-10 lead!
Until then, I had been concentrating on taking pictures, so much so that I forgot to take pictures, put down my camera, and became engrossed in the game. He found himself clapping his hands and cheering him on. No, it was that much!
In an interview with the audience during halftime
“It’s amazing how many shots you’ve scored, even though you use your strength just to move your wheelchair.”
In response to the comments from the children at the venue, the players shouted “Thank you!” from the court, making the venue excited!
40 seconds into the final 4th quarter, Amimoto (No. 15) scored a three-point shot to ignite the team.
The Spanish players were also great, and unfortunately Japan was defeated in the match,
Kitada, who answered the post-match interview,
“I’m really happy to be able to play basketball in the scenery I wanted to see over the year!”
I was delighted to be able to have a match with an audience at this 1st anniversary event.
(Kitada player)
(Sara Revurlta of the Spanish national team)One of the highlights of the first anniversary event was the live performances held at halftime and following the game.
（Little Glee Monster）Para support ambassadors, Little Glee Monster, appeared twice as guests, bringing the venue to life!
The first part ended with great excitement.
In fact, there are various exhibitions and participatory events in the corridor. There were displays such as the torch torch and the bouquet given to the athletes along with the medals, and many participants took pictures.
(torch torch)
(Bouquet given at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics)Part 2: Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Dream Match from Ceremony
About 3 hours following the end of the first part, the second part starts.
Participants who won the second part entered one following another. At first glance, the second part had more participants.
In the second part, in addition to the men’s wheelchair basketball match, the ceremony is also the main event.
(Yui Wago)Before the ceremony, the gorgeous opening performance was given by Yui Wago, who played a small one-winged airplane at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, MICRO from the HOMEMADE family, Ichiro, a sign language performer, and other dancers. and.
Anyway, I was surprised by the gorgeous performance that this is likely to be adopted as it is for the opening ceremony of the Olympics and Paralympics.
(Mr. Goro Inagaki, Mr. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Mr. Shingo Katori)In addition, IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Special Goodwill Ambassadors Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori will appear!
“Let’s have fun together until the end!”, Katori-san said, and the venue was filled with cheers and enthusiasm.
Various dignitaries attended the opening ceremony of the 1st anniversary event and gave greetings.
Yuriko Koike Governor of Tokyo
“Let’s use today as an opportunity to sweep and develop the parasports movement.”
(Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo)Kazuyuki Mori Chairman of JPC
“I hope that you will support parasports more than ever and enjoy parasports.”
(Kazuyuki Mori, Chairman of JPC)Seiko Hashimoto Former Chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee
“I felt that this country has the power to face difficulties that no one has ever experienced (that the tournament was successfully completed during the coronavirus pandemic).”
(Seiko Hashimoto, Former Chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee)Takayuki Suzuki (Para Swimming)
“The response following the Tokyo Paralympics has been so great that I have the impression that it has only been a year.
(Left: Takayuki Suzuki)Yuma Yamazaki (Para-Badminton)
“The Tokyo Paralympics was a dreamlike stage created by everyone.The World Championships will be held in November at Yoyogi Gymnasium, which is the same venue as the Paralympics, so we will be in the same pair, so please continue to support us in the future.”
(Right: Yuma Yamazaki)Andrew Parsons IPC Chairman
“Everyone should consider hosting the Tokyo Paralympics to be a historic and heroic feat.
(Andrew Parsons IPC Chairman)This 1st anniversary event is also the opening event of Ariake Arena, which opened on August 20, 2022 the other day.
Here to the tape cut by the people concerned.
In addition to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Chairwoman Shigeki Miyake, Koto Ward Mayor Takaaki Yamazaki, and Representative Director of Tokyo Ariake Arena Co., Ltd. Shuji Hitomi also attended.
When Yui Wago handed out the tape, the MC said, “Ariake Arena is opening!”
(From left: Takaaki Yamazaki, mayor of Koto Ward, Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo, Shigeki Miyake, chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, Shuji Hitomi, CEO of Tokyo Ariake Arena Co., Ltd.)And finally, the dream match between the Japanese men’s wheelchair basketball players, divided into Team White and Team Black, began!
Originally, an exhibition match with Australian male players was scheduled, but it was changed to a showdown between Japanese representatives.
After entering the players, Inagaki-san, Kusanagi-san, and Katori-san called the match!
The match was intense from the start, and the game continued with neither side giving up. Almost no difference.
Team Black’s Toriumi (No. 2) put in a shot, and Team White’s Miyamoto (No. 25) made it in. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 42-41, giving the White team a one-point lead.
However, the black team took the lead early in the 4th quarter and reversed. Fujimoto (No. 13)’s 3-pointer and free throws widened the gap.
When the game time was under the last 3 minutes, there was a clear smile on the faces of the players.
A representative match with an audience that didn’t come true a year ago. Now I can play while being watched by many people.
I might see him enjoying basketball from the bottom of his heart.
Black wins 56-62.
As a result, the spectators who watched this heated battle in front of them were completely captivated by wheelchair basketball. It was a thrilling match!
After the match, Toriumi answered an interview,
“I think the reason why we were able to gather so many people today is because of that event (the silver medal) that happened a year ago, so please continue to support us.”
(Toriumi player)Also, Kawahara, who fought with Team White,
“I hope you have learned that wheelchair basketball is fun.
(Player Kawahara)The players received a big round of applause and left the court.
Thank you for the wonderful match!
at the end of the articlePhotos of players smilingI’m going to put together a summary, so please take a look at it too!
After that, another gorgeous live performance!
Inagaki-san, Kusanagi-san, and Katori-san’s new map show off the parasports support charity song “Ameagari no Step”.
In addition to the Mikata, performers such as Yui Wago, two Paralympians, Tokyo Governor Koike, IPC Chairman Andrew Parsons, and JPC Chairman Kazuyuki Mori also joined in, parading around the arena and singing together. and Someity performed cutely!
The event ends around 20:15.
Combined, the first and second part of the event was a very long event, but in the end it was a really good event.
It reminded me of the excitement I felt at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games last year, and I think it was a good opportunity to rekindle the enthusiasm for parasports that had calmed down.
In addition, it seems that events where you can experience para sports are also planned, so please check it out.
I would like to see other para sports such as boccia and blind soccer!
Photo gallery of smiles
Full photo gallery
- Photos from Part 1
(Fisher’s, Litoguri, women’s wheelchair basketball, live performance) - Photos from Part 2
(Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Shingo Katori, men’s wheelchair basketball, ceremony, live performance) - Photos of Miraitowa and Someity Feature
Taken on August 24, 2022