Japan PM showcases Tokyo’s new Olympic stadium
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke at Sunday’s official completion of the new national stadium, the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of next year’s Tokyo Olympics. It will also host track and field and some football.
He could have spoken for anyone who has been inside the creation of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, whose venue is sure to be up for many design prizes.
“It blends with its surrounding and the natural environment,” Abe said, noting it showcased Japan’s ties to nature with its use of wood lattice work around the stadium’s rim and roof, and earth-tone colours in the seats that are randomly coloured brown, gray, two shades of green and white. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike pointed out the other strong feature as she spoke. “This stadium uses a lot of trees in its structure,” she said, speaking of the greenery that is everywhere from flower planters, to trees and shrubs.
Although Tokyo is densely urban, it is also dotted with many parks and green areas. The stadium works off that theme, making sure it is functional and linked to nature. A walkway on the fifth level is called the “Grove of the Sky.” It’s about 30m above street level and runs 850m around the entire circumference of the stadium. It’s lined with benches, flowers and trees. A stroll offers a breathtaking view of Tokyo, and on a clear day Mt. Fuji is visible to the west.
Makoto Sato, a spokesman for the Japan Sport Council, a national government body that built the venue, said the walkway will be open to the public on days when there are no events after the Olympics. “We have tried to emphasise all four seasons and people can use it around the year and enjoy it,” he said.
The stadium seating rises in a steep gradient from the field level and the nine-lane track, getting steeper the higher it goes. The colours of the seats also get lighter the higher up you go with more brown seats near the bottom— the earth—and more green, gray and white near the top.
The stadium is sure to be the centrepiece of the 2020 Olympics, built at a cost of about $1.43 billion at the present exchange rate. The capacity for the Olympics will be 68,000 and can be expanded later to 80,000. Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics left behind several architectural jewels, the most famous of which was Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Stadium. It was the swimming venue in ’64 and will host handball this time, and badminton and wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics.
The new stadium also feature items from the old stadium, which was razed in 2015. The most prominent are two mosaictile murals featuring the Greek goddess Nike and Nomino Sukune, a legendary sumo wrestler. They are located at the Aoyama Gate entrance.
The venue will be open to the general public on December 21, which will also feature a visit by eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.
The first real event will be January 1, 2020 with the Emperor’s Cup, the championship of the Japan football league.