Tokyo 2020 Announces Stadium Details, Including Retractable Roof

Japanese officials and Olympic athletes announced details about the Olympic Stadium that Tokyo will have ready for the 2020 Summer Games. The Olympic Stadium in Tokyo will be extremely advanced – and, at the same time, will be on the same site as the stadium built for the '64 Summer Games. Japanese Olympic Committee VP and Tokyo 2020 CEO Masato Mizuno said, “This is the jewel in the crown of our venue plan.” The Kasumigoaka National Stadium in central Tokyo will have state-of-the-art all-weather features, including an Olympic Games first: a retractable roof. In addition, the field will be natural grass, and suited to host a variety of sports, including athletics, rugby and football. An int'l contest was recently launched to solicit entries for the final design of the new stadium; the competition jury will be overseen by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The stadium will be ready to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup, to be held in Tokyo (Tokyo 2020).