A mosaic of a Greek Goddess which was moved from the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Stadium to the new National Stadium, venue for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is seen during a media tour following the stadium’s completion in Tokyo on December 15, 2019. – Tokyo formally unveiled its 60,000-seater main Olympic Stadium on December 15, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony — with a host of special features to beat the feared heat. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
Tokyo unveils remarkably cool 2020 Olympic stadium
The 60,000-seater Tokyo Olympic Stadium was officially revealed on Sunday, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony.
A mosaic of a Greek Goddess which was moved from the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Stadium to the new National Stadium, venue for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is seen during a media tour following the stadium’s completion in Tokyo on December 15, 2019. – Tokyo formally unveiled its 60,000-seater main Olympic Stadium on December 15, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony — with a host of special features to beat the feared heat. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
The organising committee of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo have unveiled their new stadium that will host the track and field events with state-of-the-art heat-combating features.
The 60,000-seater main Olympic Stadium was officially revealed on Sunday, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony.
Tokyo’s new Olympic stadium was built on the site of the venue for the 1964 games.
The stadium it has five floors above ground and two below, with greenery planted on the decks to provide shade from the scorching summer sun. Trial events in Tokyo at the same time of year have been beset by soaring temperatures. The eaves around the outer perimeter of the stadium keep out sunlight and rain and help channel a breeze into the stadium. There are also eight mist spraying facilities, 185 fans and 16 air-conditioned lounges.
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designed the stadium along traditional Japanese lines, using wooden eaves and domestic lumber helping the stadium blend into its surroundings in central Tokyo.
The stadium was originally set to be built according to a design from late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid but in September 2016 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe scrapped the original plans as the budget to build the Olympic stadium had swollen beyond $2 billion.
The redesigned stadium was built with total construction costs including design and supervising fees coming to 156.9 billion yen ($1.45 billion), within the acceptable budget, according to officials from the organising committee.
The venue will be open to the general public on 21 December 2019, the offiical opening will feature a visit by eight-time Olympic gold medalist, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt. The first sporting event at the new venue will be take place one New Year’s Day 1 January, 2020 with the Emperor’s Cup, the championship of the Japan football league scheduled to take place at the Tokyo Olympic stadium.
Officially known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, the 2020 Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in and around Tokyo from 24 July to 9 August 2020 with some preliminary events getting underway on 22 July.
The 2020 Games in Tokyo will be the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia, the first was the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the next being the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
The Tokyo Games will see karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding make their Olympic debuts.
Watch the Tokyo Stadium unveiled
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