A city "devastated by killer tsunami that struck northeastern Japan" in March '11 is "hoping to be the starting point of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay," according to KYODO. On Thursday, Ishinomaki Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama visited Tamayo Marukawa, minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and "requested the start of the torch relay be held in his city." Marukawa said, "It's a major theme, using the lens of the Olympics, to allow people to see the rebirth of the disaster-stricken areas. This is a suggestion to realize these revival Olympics." Games organizers are currently looking into possible routes for the torch relay, with "an eye on including areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters." Kameyama said, "I'd like to keep presenting our request while thinking of routes through the three stricken prefectures (Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima)" (KYODO,10/13).
NEW PARIS SPONSOR: The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid has been further strengthened with the addition of French-based multinational energy organization SUEZ as the bid's 13th official partner. The agreement with SUEZ means that Paris 2024 has amassed more than €26M ($29M) in private sector funding. SUEZ's primary function is to provide innovative solutions to protect water resources and to treat and recover waste (Paris 2024).
