Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo – Symbol of Unity in Diversity

Imagine a Torch Lighting that harkens back to 1992, in Barcelona, with Antonio Rebollo loosing the flaming arrow that lit that Flame.

 

Imagine a gigantic world map in the virtual stadium, with the countries conventionally displayed.

Which at the right time becomes a relief map… no countries… just land, sea, air, life… and a rainbow-coloured target over Tokyo.

Now imagine two Racket:Nx players – a man and a woman – in the Virtual Stadium, ready to send electronic, luminescent, virtual Racket:Nx balls from far on either side of the map, with electronic, luminescent, virtual racquets, to – not the main cauldron of The Flame – but to that very special, network-connected rainbow target hovering over Tokyo on the map.

That target will be connected to a network of more than 60 million smartphones, tablets and other devices, and Oculus Quests all over the world, all of which have downloaded an app – “The Rainbow Bridge” – before that Tokyo evening in July.

The Rainbow Bridge app could do a lot of things to bring people closer together over the time before the Games, including live-streaming the Olympic Channel.

The Olympic Flame enters the physical [not virtual or animated] Torch Area in time-honoured fashion, held high by the last runner from Athens.

That runner then lights a small flame receptacle, which is clearly suspended over the main Olympic cauldron.

The players aim, and swing through their virtual luminescent balls, visible to everyone watching television and on-line at home.

The balls hit the Rainbow Target…

Which explodes in sound and light… and sends a signal, visible on the map, to all of those 60 million smartphones and Oculus Quests.

The signal from that target instantaneously enables a button on all of those 60 million screens. The button has a simple name: “Light.”

When pressed, each button sends a signal back through the cloud…

Everyone sees or [if deaf] hears descriptions on their screens, first, of live shots of actual people, in their homes around the world, pressing “Light.”

Then, their button presses are progressively displayed in points of light on the map…

The lights build… and build… and build… as the crowd in the virtual stadium grows louder and louder… until the magic number of signals has been received… and three things happen:

The map explodes into the flashing colours of national flags…

 

The suspended Flame is released in a flare – and the loudest roar from the virtual stadium crowd – into the cauldron, which bursts into flaming life.

Then, every screen around the world lights with the image of the Olympic Flame.

Why virtual racquets and balls to initiate the lighting of the Flame?

Because the times and the crisis that we are in require that we be physically separate.

But they do not require that we be emotionally and spiritually apart.

They do not require that we be alone, no matter who we are.

Our minds have given us the technology to keep our bodies apart, but our hearts together.

Like the Rainbow, whatever our individual colours.

Wherever we are.

United by Emotion.