Society

Ceremony marks completion of Olympic stadium

Dec 16 (NHK) - A ceremony has been held to mark the completion of the main stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Construction of the new National Stadium was finished late last month.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, and architect Kengo Kuma, who was involved in design of the stadium, took part in the event on Sunday.

Abe said he hopes the sports venue completed in the new era of Reiwa will witness events that go down in sports history.

Participants in the ceremony pushed a button on the stage, and then a massive screen showed people celebrating the completion of the stadium.

Governor Koike said the stadium is something she can boast about to the world.

She added she will continue to work hard to make the Tokyo Games an event that will remain in the record books and people's memories.

The stadium has around 60,000 seats, which come in a variety of colors, like green and brown, to create an image like a mosaic. Above the seats are the 60-meter wooden eaves of the roof designed to maintain harmony with the surrounding greenery.

The stadium will be shown to the public in an event on Saturday. The first sports event at the venue will be the Emperor's Cup soccer final on New Year's day.

Source: Kyodo

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