Tokyo 2020: Venues taking shape

The excitement surrounding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games continues to grow as key venues start to take shape in the Japanese capital city, including the Olympic Stadium.

The construction of the stadium, located in Tokyo's central Shinjuku Ward, is "going smoothly" according to JSC Construction, the company in charge of the build, and is now 40 per cent complete.

Construction began in December 2016 and is now entering the second half of its planned 36-month term. Once finished, it is expected to hold around 80,000 people and will stage both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Paralympics, as well as the athletics events.

Upon completion next November, the venue will become the new National Stadium and officially replace the old stadium used for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics.

Update on other venues:

- The Olympic/Paralympic Village will have 21 flat-type buildings and provide 8,000 beds for the Paralympics. It will be finished by November 2019.

- The Olympic Aquatics Centre will host swimming competitions and will have a seating capacity of 15,000. It is scheduled to be finished by February 2020.

- The Sea Forest Waterway will stage canoe and rowing events. It will be able to accommodate 24,000 spectators. It is expected to be finished by late 2019.

- Wheelchair basketball tournaments will be contested at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, the first of eight new permanent venues to be completed.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will take place from 25 August to 6 September 2020. A total of 22 sports will be contested across 23 venues, with badminton and taekwondo making their Paralympic debut.

More details of the venues are available on Tokyo 2020’s official website.