Tokyo 2020 received 12,900 individual entries and 1,699 group entries for a total of 14,599 during a process which began on November 24 and concluded yesterday.

Originally, the competition was only open to those designers in Japan who had won an award, but this was relaxed in October after the first emblem was scrapped due to a plagiarism row.

Any Japanese national over the age of 18 was allowed to submit an entry, while children and foreigners not resident in Japan were also able to take part as long as one person met the requirements for nationality, age and residency.

It had been reported that Tokyo 2020 were expecting around 10,000 entries under the new competition system having received only 104 during the first selection process. 

The Organising Committee will now check all of the logos entered into the competition conform to the rules and format before the Tokyo 2020 Emblems Selection Committee, appointed in September following the scrapping of the original logo, and a group of 20 additional professional designers will select the 100 to 200 shortlisted entries on December 15.

The Committee will then re-evaluate the logos which have made the shortlist and will whittle it down to three or four designs.

The winning emblem is due to announced in the spring and the designer chosen will be invited to attend the Opening Ceremonies of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Details of the competition will be among the items revealed by Tokyo 2020 when they make a presentation to the ruling Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here tomorrow. 

“We were delighted to receive such a huge number of applications and that so many people actively took part in the competition,” Ryohei Miyata, head of the 19-strong Emblems Selection Committee, said.

“I firmly believe the great passion shown by all applicants will serve to further drive the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“It will be an extremely difficult task to select a single winning entry from among so many, but we will ensure that our selection process is fair, transparent and meets with general approval.

“I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard on their designs and made the competition such a great success.”

The announcement marks a turnaround in fortunes for Tokyo 2020 after the original logo, created by Japanese designer Kenjiro Sano, was abandoned as Belgian designer Olivier Debie claimed it resembled his Théâtre de Liège logo too closely.

The issue had been a real concern for organisers and prompted a lawsuit against the IOC to be filed, which was then dropped.

Debie is believed to be proceeding with his own case after filing a lawsuit in a Belgian court in August.

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