Renowned artists from Ireland and Japan have come together to produce a commemorative piece of music to mark the participation of Team Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Ireland’s Donal Lunny and Japan’s Hiro Hayashida will combine their talents to compose a piece of music that will feature elements of both nation’s rich musical culture.
The musical piece will provide the theme to Team Ireland’s participation at the Paralympic Games in August 2021. The historic collaboration will be unveiled at the ‘ParaBeats’ event that will be hosted live online from Narita city on Thursday, February 11th.
Narita City will be the host city to the Irish Paralympic Team when they compete in Tokyo this year and the City was eager to create a cultural link between both nations to complement the sporting link.
The project, which will create awareness of the disability communities in both Japan and Ireland, will see Cara-Sport Inclusion Ireland and Paralympics Ireland work closely with Narita City throughout the project.
Experience Japan is an Irish voluntary organisation that celebrates Japanese Culture in Ireland who are integral to the project and have provided a link between the Irish and Japanese musical and cultural communities.
The project is also supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Ireland in Japan.
“This has been a wonderful international collaboration to be part of, coming together to shine the spotlight on inclusion through music and sport,” said Niamh Daffy, CEO of Cara.
“Appreciating the opportunity to provide the keynote message at the city of Narita symposium next week, Cara is delighted to have formed, what we hope will be a lasting friendship with the city of Narita in sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise on successful developments of disability sport and inclusive physical activity with the aim of leaving a lasting legacy following the Tokyo games.”
“This is such a positive project that we are delighted to be involved in,” added Miriam Malone, CEO of Paralympics Ireland.
“The Paralympic Games provides such a wonderful opportunity to create a strong and lasting link between Japan, and Narita City in particular, and Ireland.”
“We are well aware of the power of music and the incredible traditional musical histories of both nations so this is a wonderful way to celebrate our growing friendship. I would like to thank our friends in Narita City for their efforts on the Japanese side and CARA, Sport Inclusion Ireland and Experience Japan for the fantastic work they have done on the Irish side. I can’t wait to hear the music for the first time and I know it will provide a massive boost to our athletes as they strive for success in Tokyo.”
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