The redevelopment of the Nippon Budokan has been completed, with the iconic Tokyo arena having undergone modernisation work in readiness for the ultimately postponed 2020 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Budokan will host judo and karate competitions at the Games. Known as the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts, the arena opened for Tokyo’s staging of the 1964 Olympics, hosting judo’s debut at the Games.
The Budokan, which is also a major concert venue, will have a capacity of 11,000 for next year’s Olympics and Paralympics. The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reports that the renovation project has included the addition of a new training hall for athletes, while earthquake resistant and barrier-free facilities have been added by replacing the old roof and making permanent space for wheelchair users.
New LED lighting technology has also been introduced both inside and outside the building. Earlier this month, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) confirmed that all venues had been secured for the postponed event, with the competition schedule having been confirmed.
All the venues that were to be used for this year’s Games, which were delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, will be used in 2021. The announcement was made just over a year before the Games begin on July 23, 2021.
Earlier this week, it was reported that venues that had been scheduled to host this year’s Olympics have been opened up for public use following the postponement. So far, the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre has opened, while the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre is set to follow suit in mid-August.
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