Sebastian Coe spoke emotionally on memories, numbers and commitments at Tokyo 25 press conference
A day before the start of the Tokyo 25 World Athletics Championships, a press conference featuring World Athletics president Sebastian Coe took place. He had a great message for the people of Japan and the world. He shared his fond memories, the commitment to stage a great event, and the numbers so far that indicate the outcome of the great work by the local organising committee.
“Let me start by saying in it, and it’s a very obvious thing to say. We are absolutely delighted to be here in Tokyo. Japan has now hosted our world championships for the third time. 91, obviously, here in Tokyo 07, when I actually got elected to the vice presidency of the IAAF in Osaka, we are here now,” Coe said.
He described the great atmosphere he has seen so far at Tokyo 25, both during the media launches and during visits to some of the venues in Tokyo.
“The stadium looks fantastic. I was there on Saturday morning. You can really feel palpable elements of excitement. I spoke to a lot of the athletes last night at one of our media launches. They’re very happy to be here.
Coe’s emotional memories of Japan
“And look, this is… there’s a sort of an emotional connection here, because as I said, in 2020, just short, well, just after the postponement of the Olympic Games here, I think we were the first International Federation to come and visit Tokyo. I conveyed, obviously, our sympathies, but also our admiration for the resilience of the people, Tokyo, the political leadership in Japan, and just the ability to withstand that Challenge,” Coe talked emotionally about the fond memories and emotional attachment he feels for Japan and the people of Tokyo.
“I can’t imagine how I would have felt had in 2012, something knocked on my office door in Canary Wharf and said, ‘By the way, your opening ceremony is not July 27 of this year, but we’re going July 27~2013’. So the very fact that those games took place at all is testament to the street smarts and perspicacity of local organisations and structures, he said.
Coe believes that it was on the second occasion of his visit to Japan that he agree that they would do everything they possibly could to come back here to a new stadium, specifically refurbished for track and field. But this time to bring athletes at a world championship, where with all expectation, they would have a full stadium and noisy, passionate and knowledgeable fans.
“Now, that is what we will have,” said Coe.
Coe was happy to report that that took place barely 4 years after that commitment and they’ve already sold just getting on to 500,000 tickets. On average that will be 50,000 tickets sold each night. With many sessions sold out, there are still a couple of nights World Athletics will still need to push for. But, according to Coe, the obvious observation is that some tickets are still available.
World Athletics presidents praises the Local Organizing Committee for Tokyo 25
Coe encouraged all the Japanese media, with respect, to make the point that this is the largest global sporting event of the year, by some distance. The teams, the individual athletes, and athletes for the ages are in that stadium.
“In terms of coverage for the audiences at home, you’ve shown up in record numbers, 900 accredited press, over 1,000 broadcasters to document the thrills and the upsets to your audiences in all four corners of the globe,” said Coe.
In what promises to be a great event, 1 billion viewers will be watching. And over 2,000 athletes from 200 countries have made their way to Tokyo. According to Coe, if the last Diamond League continental tour season is anything to go by, then we can expect an athletics display, for the ages.
“I’m not gonna run through all the sumptuous head-to-heads, but when you’ve got Mondo, you’ve got Faith, got the mouth watering, head-to-heads in the 400 meter hurdles, Noah, and the clash of the titans in the men’s discus,” Said Coe.
The World Athletics president pointed out that Tokyo 25 will also see the return of one of our sports’ most iconic stars: Usain Bolt. Usain was here to help drive and launch the ultimate championship a year ago from yesterday (11th September 2025), which will be a special day for them. Bolt will make a special appearance in the stadium over the next few days.
“So again, we’re really looking forward to the championships. I’m very, very grateful to all those who have stood behind and sat behind the work that’s got us here so far. And I really do extend my deepest gratitude to the organizing committee. The Japanese association of athletics federations, you go, and the Tokyo metropolitan government. Governor could not have been more helpful in every Challenge that we have confronted on route here, and the Japanese sports council also for their tireless efforts, and an unwavering commitment to staging these championships with such professionalism and such pride,” said Coe.
