Tokyo 2016 plants the seeds for a more sustainable Olympic Games

10 November 2008--Efforts towards Tokyo hosting the greenest and most sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games ever took another major step today with the planting of 7,000 saplings at a key 2016 Games venue cluster on Saturday, 8 November.

The planting at Tokyo’s inspiring ‘Sea Forest’ – a richly landscaped landfill island in Tokyo Bay--is an early step in the city’s commitment to host the most compact and sustainable Games ever held at the very heart of Japan’s vibrant capital. Sea Forest will host Olympic cross-country equestrian, rowing, flatwater canoe and kayak, marathon swimming, BMX and mountain bike competitions at the Tokyo 2016 Games.

The young trees were planted by a symbolic group of 2,016 people comprising athletes and volunteers, including many elementary school children who helped to nurture the saplings. Among the athletes were Beijing 2008 bronze medallist wrestler Kyoko Hamaguchi, her father Animal Hamaguchi, a former professional wrestler, and track cycling Paralympian Mutsuhiko Ogawa. The athletes pledged their support to help establish Tokyo as a model city with the lowest environmental load in the world through innovative initiatives such as Sea Forest.

Tokyo Vice-Governor Hideo Sugawara led the planting alongside world-renowned architect Tadao Ando, who is also chairman of the Sea Forest project as well as a member of the Grand Design Team for Tokyo2016.

By 2016, Sea Forest will be home to a robust 88-hectare forest as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s (TMG) ‘Tokyo’s Big Change – the Ten Year Plan’. This is a plan to turn Tokyo into one of the most advanced global cities in terms of infrastructure, environment, safety, culture, tourism, industry and sports. Working alongside TMG to achieve this goal, Tokyo 2016's Games-related initiatives will act as catalyst for change and showcase Tokyo’s sustainable model.

Sea Forest’s innovative design will enable it function as a natural air conditioner by cooling breezes that flow into the heart of the city, including during the Games.

As Tokyo undergoes the world’s greatest urban and environmental transformation, it will expand its greenery onto the streets with more than one million trees covering rooftops, parks and school lawns by 2016. The ‘greening’ of Tokyo will help to establish a harmony between urban living and the natural environment, for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Tokyo 2016

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Tokyo 2016