On this day the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was scheduled to begin. Presently, the best we are hoping for is that the postponed games start as planned in July 2021.

This may come as a surprise, but a logo is designed for each of the Applicant Cities pitching for the right to hold the event.

In 2013, six cities were in the running for the 2020 Summer Olympics:
– Madrid, Spain
– Istanbul, Turkey
– Tokyo, Japan
– Doha, Qatar
– Baku, Azerbaijan
– Rome, Italy (Rome pulled out just prior to the event, citing economic uncertainty)

If we were judging solely on the logos, this would be the medal order:

Tokyo, Japan (the clear winner with an elegant, playful rendition of interconnected cherry blossoms)
Doha, Qatar (a clever take on the Arabic word for ‘big tree’, a symbol of where the city was built)
Baku, Azerbaijan (can you pick the hidden element in the woven symbol?)
Istanbul, Turkey (an awkward combo of skyline and tulip, with hideous typography)
Madrid, Spain (the reversed out ‘2020’ trying waaaay too hard)
Rome, Italy (eeek)

Which one is your favourite?