At a press conference Saturday in London Japanese officials and Olympic athletes announced details about the Olympic Stadium, should Tokyo host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The international roll-out of “Discover Tomorrow”, the city’s future-focused vision for its bid was also discussed.
Located on the same site as the stadium built for the 1964 Summer Games, the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo will be the most advanced Olympic Stadium ever, said Tokyo 2020. Masato Mizuno, Vice President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and Chief Executive of Tokyo 2020 said, “this is the jewel in the crown of our venue plan. It’s a beautiful example of how Tokyo is bringing the values of Olympic Legacy in direct connection with the future”.
Officials said the new Olympic stadium would cost 130 billion yen.
The Kasumigoaka National Stadium located in central Tokyo will be remodelled to have state-of-the-art all-weather features, including an Olympic Games first – a retractable roof. The field will have natural grass and will be suited to host a variety of sports including athletics, rugby and football.
An international contest was launched recently to solicit entries for the final design of the new stadium, and the competition jury will be overseen by world-renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The stadium will be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup being held in Tokyo said Takeda.
Bid officials said Saturday an Olympic Games in Tokyo would generate $37 billion and create 150,000 jobs..
Takeda told reporters, “if we host the Olympics, 2.9 trillion yen and 150,000 jobs will be created. Japan needs more energy and good news, bright news, happy news, and therefore by hosting the Olympics in Tokyo the sufferers in the (Tokyo) region will get hope for the future”.
Tokyo wants the Games following last year’s deadly earthquake and tsunami that resulted in a nuclear crisis.
Meanwhile an IOC survey earlier this year showed that just 47 per cent of Tokyo’s citizens support the city’s second bid for the Summer Games after its failed 2016 Games bid. Takeda said, “it is not like a lot of people are against it. So we need to win over that 30 per cent”.
