Tokyo venues ready to forge Olympic dreams

Forty-three of them are located in two main areas — ‘Bay’ and ‘Heritage’ zones

Spectacular: An aerial view of Tokyo’s new National Stadium, the main venue of the Olympics and Paralympics.

From a state-of-the-art aquatics centre to a historic martial arts arena whose roof resembles Mount Fuji, Tokyo’s Olympic sites are ready for action after a year’s virus delay.

The 43 venues are located in two main areas: the “Tokyo Bay Zone” in the capital’s busy port district, and the more central “Heritage Zone” incorporating several sites from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

With one month to go until the opening ceremony, here is a tour of the key venues:

Olympic Stadium: Used for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics and some football matches, the 68,000-seater Olympic Stadium in central Tokyo has been built on the site of the 1964 stadium.

Aquatics Centre: The Aquatics Centre was completed in February 2020 but its grand opening was postponed by the virus.

The 15,000-seat venue in the Bay Zone will be used for swimming, diving and artistic swimming events.

Sea Forest Waterway: On a lush artificial island sits the Sea Forest Waterway where rowers will glide along eight competition lanes.

Built to seat 24,000, the arena’s capacity will be reduced to 2,000 afterwards when it will host 30 competitions per year as well as canoeing and rowing classes.

Ariake Arena: The brand-new Ariake Arena will host Olympic volleyball and Paralympic basketball, with seating for 15,000.