The Japanese Olympic Committee has always held encouragement ceremonies to show support for the Japanese national team competing in the Olympics. However, it became difficult to hold an actual gathering as in the past due to COVID-19. Furthermore, public opinion in Japan was divided on the pros and cons of holding the Olympics amid the pandemic, and many athletes felt unable to take part in the Games with their heads held high. The challenge was to find a way to encourage athletes under such circumstances.

In response to this situation, on July 6, 2021, we held the TOKYO 2020 Virtual Encouragement Ceremony, the first-ever online encouragement ceremony for athletes. Real shows of support and cheering from all over Japan were delivered to the athletes on stage at the Digital National Stadium.

As the question of whether or not to hold the Olympics was being raised, it was considered taboo to express support for the athletes, and there were many citizens who really wanted to support the athletes but could not.

In response to this, we decided to ""unite our hearts. Let hope be your strength. Under the key message of ""Unite our hearts, make hope into strength,"" we held the first ever virtual encouragement ceremony, safe even from the Corona disaster.

This was the world's first effort to digitally unite the public, who had been reluctant to voice their support due to public scrutiny, and the athletes, who could not take the Games seriously due to many opposing views.

In the digital national stadium reproduced by 3D technology.

Japan's best volumetric capture technology. A live performance by a national artist was held using Japan's best volumetric capture technology. The live performance was delivered to the remote participants in real time. In addition, words of support and cheering figures collected from all over Japan were displayed on the screen. This made it possible to visualize the feelings of support that were difficult to deliver through the Corona disaster.

In addition, ribbons and flags using the latest LED technology were used. The performance symbolized the light of hope, using ribbons and flags with the latest LED technology to encourage the athletes who were challenging the Olympic Games under uncertain circumstances.

A total of 582 athletes participated, a 70% increase from the previous record attendance.

With the live streaming, 1.2 million people, 400 times more than the real event, attended the Virtual Encouragement Ceremony in real time and delivered their words of support.

The best result of all was that the athletes, seeing the cheering voices of the people, shed tears of joy.

The flags that we presented at the pep rally were voluntarily brought by the athletes to the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

As a result, Japan's athletes won a record 58 medals. They also won a record 27 gold medals.

The people who supported the athletes were also encouraged by their performance. Even though we couldn't see them in real life, we succeeded in lighting a light of hope in the hearts of the athletes and the world with the power of the latest technology and ideas.