Tokyo 2020 Unveils 15,000-Seat Olympic Aquatics Centre
Tokyo 2020 organisers on Thursday unveiled the $523 million venue for swimming, diving and artistic swimming that will seat 15,000 fans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
Tokyo's Olympic Aquatics Centre seats 15,000 fans. Photo: AFP / Kazuhiro NOGI
Tokyo 2020 organisers on Thursday unveiled the $523 million venue for swimming, diving and artistic swimming that will seat 15,000 fans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
Construction is 90 percent complete at the four-storey Aquatics Centre and is due to be finished on schedule by the end of February, officials said.
"We are aiming to construct a swimming venue to the world's highest standards equipped with the latest facilities," Tokyo 2020 venue official Daishuu Tone told reporters.
The main pool features a movable wall allowing the 50m facility to be converted into two 25m pools. The depth of the bottom can also be adjusted.
The building cost 56.7 billion yen but Tokyo hopes to make the most of the facility after the 2020 Games, aiming to attract one million users a year -- 850,000 through swimming competitions and another 150,000 casual users.
Organisers also unveiled the Ariake Arena on Thursday, a 37-billion-yen site for Olympic volleyball and wheelchair basketball.
Construction on the main venue, the 159 billion yen National Stadium, has been completed and will be unveiled in a gala opening on December 21.
Musicians and star athletes will join the event, with world-record sprinter Usain Bolt featuring in an exhibition relay.
-
Moldovan youth is more than ready to join the EU
2024-04-18 -
UN says solutions exist to rapidly ease debt burden of poor nations
2024-04-18 -
'Human-induced' climate change behind deadly Sahel heatwave: study
2024-04-18 -
Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
2024-04-18 -
US sterilizations spiked after national right to abortion overturned: study
2024-04-13 -
Future of Africa's flamingos threatened by rising lakes: study
2024-04-13 -
Corporate climate pledge weakened by carbon offsets move
2024-04-11 -
Humanity lost 'moral compass' on Gaza: top UN official
2024-04-10 -
No.1 Scheffler says patience and trust are secrets to success
2024-04-10 -
From homeless addict to city chief: the unusual journey of Canadian mayor
2024-04-10