Japan Selects new Design for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium

The Japan Sport Council (JSC) has chosen a smaller, scaled-down design for the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Increasing costs saw the initial stadium design by architect Zaha Hadid scrapped earlier in the year.

The stadium was due to cost 252bn yen, which would have made it the most expensive stadium in the world.

The new stadium design will be done by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and will cost 149bn yen ($1.2bn; £825m) to build.

The construction of the design will be led by Japanese construction company Taisei Corp.

“This is a wonderful plan which meets the basic vision in the new construction plan and requirements for construction period and the budget,” said Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The deadline for completion of the stadium is January 2020, with the Games scheduled to take place in July of that year. 

That will mean construction of the stadium will have to be speeded up considerably to match the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) deadline.

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