Olympics: Construction of Tokyo's new Olympic stadium complete

TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Construction work on the new National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, has been completed, the Japan Sports Council said Tuesday.

The construction for the 150 billion yen (about $1.4 billion) stadium started in December 2016. The stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics as well as athletics and soccer events.

Construction on the 60,000-capacity stadium began about 14 months later than planned after the original design by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was discarded following public outcry over the spiraling cost.

The delay also meant it couldn't host matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The Emperor's Cup soccer final on Jan. 1 will be the first public sporting event to be held at the venue. The 2020 Summer Games will take place between July 24 and Aug. 9, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.

The capacity of the stadium will be expanded to 68,000 after the Games.

Source: Kyodo News