- Title: Tokyo officials celebrate the start of construction of new Olympic stadium
- Date: 11th December 2016
- Summary: SCREEN ON STAGE SHOWING SKETCH OF NEW TOKYO OLYMPIC STADIUM DESIGN SCREEN ON STAGE SHOWING COMPUTER GRAPHICS OF NEW TOKYO OLYMPICS STADIUM
- Embargoed: 26th December 2016 05:01
- Keywords: Olympics stadium Tokyo 2020 construction
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN / GRAPHICS
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN / GRAPHICS
- Country: Japan
- Reuters ID: LVA0025CFUPMN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo governor, Yuriko Koike, celebrated the start of construction of the new Olympic stadium on Sunday morning (December 11).
Construction of the newly-designed centrepiece National Stadium begins more than a year behind schedule after Games organisers had to tackle a series of broken promises and problems in the preparations, including scrapping the original stadium design.
"We have to make the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics the world's best, as we hold the baton handed from Brazil in our hands. This will be an Olympics that share our hopes and dreams, an Olympics that will leave a proud legacy, and an Olympics that will tell the world of Japan's strength," said Abe.
"This Olympics will be the first to carry out the IOC's Agenda 2020. And central to the Olympics will be this stadium, which I strongly believe, will be a true symbol for Agenda 2020," Koike added.
"Agenda 2020" is a series of reforms led by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach with the aim of making the Olympics more sustainable.
The competition to design the new stadium was won by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma in December last year, after ballooning costs forced the futuristic original plan by Zaha Hadid to be abandoned.
The winning design submitted by a consortium led by Taisei Corp has a price tag of 149 billion yen ($1.23 billion), against an estimated $2.1 billion for the controversial concept by Hadid.
Kuma is known for blending traditional Japanese style with modern elements, and his design for the New National Stadium incorporates wood and layers of eaves.
Construction is scheduled for completion in November 2019. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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