TOKYO - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has called for all delegations for the Tokyo Olympic Games to have both male and female flag bearers at the opening ceremony.

The IOC said in a joint statement with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Government of Japan and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) that all 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will be encouraged to have their flag carried by one female and one male athlete at the opening ceremony.

The statement, released to mark the International Women's Day, said that Tokyo 2020 would be the first-ever gender-balanced Olympic Games in history, a record number of female competitors at Paralympic Games.

Almost 49 percent of the athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics will be women. There will be a ground-breaking competition schedule, ensuring equal visibility between women's and men's events and featuring nine more mixed events than at Rio 2016, raising the overall number to 18.

The IOC and the organizers also called all participating delegations to have at least one female and one male athlete in their respective Olympic teams.