Tokyo Olympics 2020 ceremonies director may quit over pig costume suggestion, reports Kyodo News

Hiroshi Sasaki, an advertising executive, proposed 33-year-old entertainer Naomi Watanabe come down from the sky dressed in a swine costume for the opening ceremony in a segment dubbed “Olympig”, Kyodo news agency reported Tokyo: The director for the postponed Tokyo Olympics ceremonies plans to resign after suggesting a female entertainer dress as a pig for the opening ceremony, Japanese media reported on Thursday, in the latest setback for the troubled Games. Hiroshi Sasaki, an advertising executive, proposed 33-year-old entertainer Naomi Watanabe come down from the sky dressed in a swine costume for the opening ceremony in a segment dubbed “Olympig”, Kyodo news agency reported, citing a weekly magazine. Sasaki, who helped produce the ceremony handing over the Games from Rio to Tokyo — famously featuring then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a character from the Super Mario video game — was named the new creative director of the delayed 2020 ceremonies last year. Organisers at the time said the decision to replace a previous seven-person creative team would improve efficiency and reshape the traditionally lavish and spectacular ceremonies to be “in tune with the situation.” The Games, delayed from 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, are due to open 23 July.