Connecting Tokyo 2020 with people and places: a case of the Nanairo Ekiden as sport heritage

The Olympic Games is more than a mega sport festival and the myriad connections created through the interaction of sport, athletes, education, the public and community through Olympism is one of the great global expressions of education through sport. The linkages between the mega-event, society and sport are reflected in the tangible and intangible aspects of the event. These connections are created through participation, material culture and the intangible aspects of Olympism imbued in its expression. This paper considers material culture and the values education associated with it through an inclusive sporting event, the Nanairo Ekiden, an academic legacy project of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It considers the intangible heritage created through the event and disseminated and maintained through the memories, wishes and hopes of the participants, written on ribbon tanzaku. It also considers the ascription of value to tangible and tangible heritage via actors during the implementation of the ekiden.