#CongratulationsTokyo

Monday, 9 September 2013

On Saturday, when Tokyo was chosen to be the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the winning team did not need to take to Twitter to celebrate; they had been there all along.

As Tweets were sent and Tokyo (@Tokyo2020jp) celebrated, it was left to Madrid (@Madrid2020es) and Istanbul (@Istanbul2020TR) to congratulate their rival.

Just as during the Games, enthusiasts across the globe also shared their reactions. At the height of conversation, there were more than 26,000 Tweets per minute surrounding Tokyo’s announcement. This interactive map shows each geotagged Tweet mentioning the Olympics decision. Search a country to see even more.

#CongratulationsTokyo

Click image to explore interactive animation. Map created with CartoDB.

Tokyo becomes the first Asian city to host the summer Olympics twice, with the Games returning there for the first time since 1964.

The Japan Olympic Committee celebrated immediately:

And more celebratory Tweets followed. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe tweeted about “happiness from the bottom of my heart”.

The Governor of Tokyo, Naoki Inose, tweeted a picture of himself with outgoing IOC president Jacques Rogge.

Mizuki Fujii, a medallist at the @London2012 Games, tweeted about her dream:

Another Japanese medallist, Ryosuke Irie, jumped in:

Japanese soccer star Hiroshi Kiyotake, who plays in Europe, tweeted to fans back home.

Of course, other celebrities were also quick to speak up. Singers Becky, Ayumi Hamasaki and Haruna Kojima all tweeted:

This was the first election of an Olympic host city since 2009, when Rio de Janeiro (@Rio2016) won the bid for 2016. This round, all three city prospects for 2020 used Twitter on the campaign trail.

And now, Tokyo begins the long road of preparation. You can prepare, too, by following @Tokyo2020jp, the official account for both the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.