TOKYO: Tokyo’s National Stadium, set to be the centrepiece of next year’s Olympic Games, was officially finished on Saturday and handed over to its owner and operator, the Japan Sport Council.

Construction on the 60,000-capacity stadium was finished earlier this month but Saturday marked the official completion date and a landmark moment for organisers eight months out from the start of the Games.

It will be officially unveiled on Dec 21, with the Emperors Cup football final being the first sporting event to be held there on New Years Day.

“We are very pleased that construction of the stadium a key symbol of the Tokyo 2020 Games has now been completed; it makes us realise just how close we are getting to the start of the Games,” said Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto in a statement on Saturday.

“We are so looking forward to seeing athletes from all over the world marching into the new stadium at the Opening Ceremony... when the eyes of the world will be on this iconic symbol of the Tokyo 2020 Games.”

Completed at a cost of more than $1.25 billion, the stadium, which can accommodate 60,000, will also host the athletics and football events during the Games.

Construction started in December 2016, about 14 months later than planned, after the original design was scrapped because of a public outcry over spiralling costs.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2019