Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Monday that "she will use her platform to host a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly 2020 Olympics and push a women's rights agenda that she hopes will be a model for Japan's central government." Koike said that "reduce, reuse and recycle" of waste and temporary facilities will be her slogan for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games. The estimated cost of hosting the Olympics "has spiraled." Koike said, "We should focus more on sustainability and credibility in planning the Olympics." She added that "she will use her expertise as a former environment minister." She said, "The triple-R of reduce, reuse and recycle perfectly fits global sustainability and waste management" (AP, 8/30).
The Int'l Paralympic Committee, the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and the Agitos Foundation, the IPC’s development arm, gave their support on Tuesday to a global fundraising campaign with an invitation to the world to fund 10,000 Brazilian youngsters to attend next month’s Paralympics. The #FillTheSeats campaign originally aimed to raise $15,000 to send 500 youngsters to the Games.
However, after raising over $20,000 in just one week, the IPC and Rio 2016 have asked that the campaign stay open so that more tickets can be donated to local Brazilians as a gift from the world (IPC).
The Zimbabwe government denied that President Robert Mugabe "had ordered the arrest of the country's Olympics team for failing to win medals during the Rio Olympics." Principal Dir of the Ministry of Sport & Recreation Benson Dube said that the story "was false and probably the work of social media" (XINHUA, 8/30).
Australian Olympic athletes "cast off their Rio woes" as they embarked on a nationwide "Welcome home" tour on Monday, starting with a samba-themed appearance at the Sydney Opera House. Governor-General Peter Cosgrove "praised team members, wearing their green and gold tracksuits, at a special reception before they headed to the Opera House." He said, "We've celebrated your successes jumping around the lounge room at home, exchanging high fives at the office with people we'd otherwise barely speak to" (AFP, 8/29).
