Organizers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Thursday unveiled three final candidates for the games' official mascot, passing the baton to the nation's elementary school students — who will pick the winner in a vote starting Monday.
The final proposals have been short-listed from a total of 2,042 design submissions from the public, and were presented with help from 113 children during a ceremony at Kakezuka Elementary School in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. Each proposal is a set of two characters — one for the Olympic games and the other for the Paralympics.
The first final candidate set has an Olympic character based on a futuristic vision of the world, and decorated with a traditional checkered pattern to embody Japan's tradition and innovation. The Paralympic character is decorated with cherry blossom flowers and has superpowers.
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