The mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were named during a ceremony in the Japanese capital today.
The Olympic mascot, a blue-checked pointy-eared figure, was named as Miraitowa combining the Japanese words ‘mirai’, meaning future, and ‘towa’, which means eternity.
Its Paralympic counterpart, who is pink-checked and wears a cape, was named Someity after a variety of cherry blossom called Someiyoshino.
The Games organisers said, the name sounded similar to ‘so mighty’ in English.
After the ceremony, the mascots appeared on a boat that cruised down the Sumida river, waving to children on the riverbank as they passed some of Tokyo’s most iconic landmarks.