Olympics
Ever since Tokyo was awarded next year’s summer Olympics back in 2013, concerned officials have been trying to figure out how to keep spectators cool in the summer heat. Tokyo regularly sees temperatures hit 95ºF in the summer and to prevent spectators suffering from heatstroke it looks like they’ll be using snow to keep people cool.
Organizers tested the use of artificial snow at a canoe event earlier today by spraying it over spectator seating. Around 650lbs of artificial snow was sprayed over stands for a period of five minutes, showering down over around 150 spectators.
“Artificial snow will be sprayed over spectator seating,” a spokeswoman for the Tokyo 2020 organizers told AFP. “…we want to test it to see how effective it is,” she said.
The test used small snow-making machines, capable of producing about a ton of snow per day, and officials from the organizing committee were in the stands to judge the technique’s effectiveness.
They have already tested measures including misting stations, air-conditioned cooling tents and even rows of potted flowers along the routes of queues – thought to psychologically cool spectators.
The last time Japan hosted the Summer Olympics, in 1964, the competition was held in October to avoid the hot summer conditions.
The 2020 Summer Olympics will run from 24 July to 9 August, with the Paralympics scheduled from 25 August to 6 September.
