The last Thursday, Japan’s Sport Council awarded a design contract of a billion-dollar national stadium, which forms a key part of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, to lauded U.K. firm Zaha Hadid Architects. Two weeks ago, we announced the eleven finalist in this competition, which can be found here, and the last Thuresday it has been announced that Zaha Hadid Architects was selected from other well-known finalists, such as SANAA, Toyo Ito, UNStudio, Populous, and Cox Architecture. The new stadium will be erected on the site of the old National Olympic Stadium, built for the 1964 games, which will be demolished by October 2015.
Courtesy of © Zaha Hadid Architecture
“The stadium is scheduled for completion in 2018, and if Japan is selected to host the 2020 Olympic Games, it will be used as the primary venue for both, the 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The stadium is already slated to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and will also be offered as a venue for the FIFA World Cup, the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, concerts by world-renowned entertainers, and a wide range of other cultural and artistic events.” Ichiro Kono, president of the Japan Sports Council – The competition organizer .
Courtesy of © Zaha Hadid Architecture
