Ise City in Mie prefecture is serving as a host city for the Lao Para Athletics team, who will compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games to be kicked off on Aug 24.
Giving an online interview to the media on August 18, Mayor of Ise City, Mr. Suzuki Kenichi said that people in Ise City are glad to cheer for the Lao Para athletics team at the Paralympics, hoping that they will achieve outstanding results.
“It is my first time to host a Para athletics team from Laos. I am proud and happy to connect Japanese local towns with countries and regions participating in the Tokyo Games 2020, and to have various exchanges in terms of sports, culture, economy, etc. Participating countries and regions can develop long-term relationship with Japanese local towns,” said Mayor Suzuki Kenichi.
Elementary school students in the host Japanese city have designed an official uniform for the Lao Para athletics team.
In November last year, three elementary schools in the city held a design contest for the official uniform for the Lao Para Athletics team while they were learning the history and culture of Laos. A total of 118 designs were submitted by 192 students, and the National Paralympic Committee of Laos chose the winner.
The winning design mainly uses three colors, white, blue and red, as they are used in the flag of Laos. White is used as a whole to avoid heat and blue and red are placed on the shoulders and armpits areas.
With its motto to be “a people-friendly town,” Ise City implements policies, such as barrier-free transportation, barrier-free tourism and supporter registration system, to offer an amenable environment to persons with disabilities, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Over days in Ise, each member of the Lao Para athletes team took turn in participating in a cultural exchange event to share lessons, experiences with local children while keeping industrious training ahead of the big games.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was held between July 23 and August 8 while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5.
Source: Lao News Agency